U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested 4 U.S. citizens in connection to three separate failed drug smuggling attempts involving a total of nearly 159 pounds of meth and heroin through Arizona’s Port of San Luis.
Officers referred a 62-year-old man for an additional search of his KIA van as he attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico on Saturday. A CBP canine alert to a scent it was trained to detect in multiple locations, which led officers to discover more than 46 pounds of meth, worth more than $139,000. The man was also carrying nearly 2,000 acetaminophen pills, worth an undetermined value.
Sunday afternoon, officers referred a 20-year-old female driver and her 19-year-old female passenger for further inspection of a Chevy sedan. A canine alert led officers to more than 27 pounds of meth, with an estimated value of nearly $82,000, as well as more than 10 pounds of heroin, worth in excess of $176,000 from within all four door compartments.
Monday afternoon, a CBP canine alert to a Chevy truck being driven by a 26-year-old man led to the discovery of over 75 pounds of meth. The drugs, worth nearly $226,000, were removed from the spare tire as well as the passenger side doors.