October 8-9 seizures of meth and heroin
October 10, 2016
Over the weekend of October 8-9, Port of Nogales Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercepted four shipments of heroin and methamphetamine with a combined value of $318,000 and arrested three Mexican nationals and a man from Rio Rico, Arizona.
Saturday, October 8
On Saturday morning, a 53-year-old man from Rio Rico, Arizona driving a Ford van was flagged for secondary inspection at the Nogales Mariposa Port of Entry.
A CBP drug-detection dog directed CBP officers to the van’s rear quarter panels, where they located approximately 31 pounds of methamphetamine. The drugs were valued at $92,000.
Also on Saturday, another drug-detection canine alerted CBP officials to a Kia sedan driven by a 38-year-old Mexican woman at the DeConcini Port of Entry. An inspection revealed almost six pounds of heroin sewn into the lining of a backpack inside of the vehicle. The drugs had a value of nearly $100,000.
The third Saturday Nogales drug bust was at the Mariposa Port of Entry, where a drug-sniffing dog alerted officials to a Toyota sedan driven by a 25-year-old Mexican woman from Hermosillo, Sonora.
A search of the Toyota revealed nearly 21 pounds of methamphetamine stashed in the dashboard of the vehicle. The meth was worth more than $65,000.
Sunday, October 9
There was one additional Nogales border weekend drug bust on Sunday. CBP officers at the Nogales Mariposa Port of Entry flagged a Chevrolet van driven by a 32-year-old Mexican male from Hermosillo for secondary inspection.
There, agents discovered more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in the van, with a value of almost $61,000.
CBP seized all of the drugs and vehicles, and the suspects were turned over to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations unit.
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection