Border Patrol agents were busy over the Labor Day weekend with multiple arrests of drug smugglers in commercial shuttles.
Nogales Border Patrol agents arrested seven U.S. citizens within a 24-hour period for attempting to smuggle drugs through the Interstate 19 Immigration Checkpoint.
In one case, Nogales Border Patrol agents on Saturday referred a commercial shuttle van for a routine immigration inspection and discovered three of the passengers; one from Nogales and two from Tucson, attempting to conceal a combined 12.2 ounces of methamphetamine under their clothing.
On Sunday, agents directed two shuttle vans concurrently for immigration inspections and discovered a passenger in each van in possession of hard narcotics. In one van, a 17-year-old from Tucson was arrested for smuggling cocaine. In the other van, a Phoenix resident was found with four bags of fentanyl pills.
A few hours later in another shuttle van, agents discovered two additional Tucson residents with a brick of heroin concealed under their clothing. The heroin had a combined weight of approximately 9.5 ounces.
All seven individuals were arrested and charged with narcotics smuggling.