A 67-year-old Rio Rico man was arrested after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Nogales caught him smuggling nearly 21 pounds of heroin, 103 pounds of cocaine, 116 pounds of methamphetamine, and 1.5 pounds of suspected fentanyl.
On Saturday, in three separate incidents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Nogales seized more than 349 pounds of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and suspected fentany.
CBP officers at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing referred the Rio Rico man for further inspection of his Jeep SUV when he attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico Saturday morning. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, “Following an alert by a CBP narcotics detection canine, CBP officers seized hard drugs from throughout the vehicle. Found were nearly 21 pounds of heroin, worth an estimated value of almost $560,000; 103 pounds of cocaine, worth nearly $2.5M; 116 pounds of methamphetamine, worth more than $347,000; and 1.5 pounds of suspected fentanyl, worth almost $20,000.”
“A few hours later, a CBP narcotics detection canine at the DeConcini Crossing alerted to a Honda sedan crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. The 21-year-old Phoenix man was questioned about the contents of his vehicle before officers removed two packages of drugs from the vehicle’s rear tires. The drugs were identified as approximately 15 pounds of meth, worth nearly $45,000.”
That evening, officers at the Mariposa Crossing referred a 24-year-old Mexican national for further inspection of her Ford compact sedan. After a CBP canine alerted to the presence of drugs inside of her vehicle, officers removed 71 packages of hard drugs. Seized were more than 18 pounds of cocaine, worth more than $434,000; more than 64 pounds of meth, worth $192,456; more than 9 pounds of heroin, worth almost $245,000 and nearly 2 pounds of suspected fentanyl pills, with an estimated value of $27,000.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicles. The subjects were arrested and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.