TUCSON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were busy intercepting illegal drugs at the Port of Nogales over the weekend. Cocaine, Fentanyl, Heroin, and Methamphetamine were seized and six people were arrested in separate events.
On Friday, a 28-year-old Tucson woman was referred to secondary inspection by CBP officers at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing for further inspection when she attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico through a pedestrian lane, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Officers searched the woman and discovered one package of fentanyl hidden internally, weighing more than half a pound and worth an estimated $7,200.
Minutes earlier, at the Mariposa Crossing a 29-year-old Mexican national and his Chevy truck was referred for inspection. During the search, officers found 23 pounds of methamphetamine, 7 pounds of cocaine, 2 pounds of heroin, and more than one pound of fentanyl hidden with an estimated value of $600,000 in the speaker box of his truck.
On that same night, CBP officers referred a 29-year-old Mexican woman and her female passenger, also a Mexican national, and the Ford sedan she was driving, for inspection. A drug sniffing canine alerted officer to the presence of nearly 10 packages of cocaine in the fuel tank, weighing almost 25 pounds worth approximately $600,000.
On Saturday evening, CBP officers discovered a combination of drugs located beneath the rear seats of a vehicle driven by a 37-year-old Mexican national, who had been referred for secondary inspection when he attempted to enter the U.S. through the Mariposa Crossing. The nearly 74 pounds of heroin and 50 pounds of fentanyl were estimated to be worth more than $2.6 million.
Then on Sunday, a 17-year-old was arrested after he attempted to enter the U.S. through the DeConcini Pedestrian Crossing with almost $40,000 worth of heroin taped to his thighs weighing nearly a pound and a half.