Seven busts yield more than $1 million in meth and cocaine
November 13, 2016
From November 1 to November 7, 2016, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials intercepted approximately 170 pounds of hard drugs valued at $1.05 million and arrested three Arizona women, three Mexican nationals from Nogales and a man from Magdalena de Kino, Sonora.
November 1
The month started with two drug interdictions of methamphetamine and cocaine on Tuesday, November 1, with a combined value of nearly $500,000.
The first bust was at the DeConcini Port of Entry, where a 22-year-old woman from Phoenix driving a Chevrolet sedan failed a vehicle inspection after a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drug-detection canine alerted officials to the possible presence of drugs in the vehicle. CBP officers then found more than 20 pounds of meth hidden in the Chevy’s dashboard.
The second drug discovery on November 1 occurred at the Mariposa Port of Entry, where another drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to the presence of drugs in a Mazda sedan driven by a 64-year-old man from Magdalena de Kino, Mexico. CBP officials then located almost 37 pounds of cocaine that was hidden in the vehicle. The coke was valued at more than $418,000.
November 3
Two days later, on Thursday, November 3, a 20-year-old woman from Rio Rico, Arizona attempted to cross the Nogales international border at the Mariposa Port of Entry with illegal drugs hidden in her Ford sedan.
A CBP canine alerted the officers to the presence of drugs in the front bumper of the sedan, and officers found more than 23 pounds of meth, with a value of more than $70,000.
November 5
The following Saturday, November 5, a CBP drug-detection dog alerted CBP officers to a cache of drugs that were stashed in a Toyota sedan that was crossing the Nogales international border at the Mariposa Port of Entry.
The 28-year-old woman from Mesa, Arizona who was driving the sedan was arrested after CBP officials found nearly 38 pounds of meth in the Toyota, with an estimated value of $113,000.
November 6
Sunday, November 6 was another busy day for Nogales international border drug smuggling arrests. A total of three busts on that day yielded nearly $400,000 worth of methamphetamine and cocaine, and three Mexican nationals from Nogales were arrested. Two of the border drug busts were made at the Mariposa Port and the other was at the DeConcini border crossing.
The first drug interdiction at the Mariposa crossing involved a 29-year-old man from Nogales, Mexico driving a Nissan sedan. A CBP drug-detection canine alerted officers to the presence of drugs in the vehicle, and they discovered almost 10 pounds of meth hidden in the Nissan’s muffler. The meth was valued at nearly $29,000.
The other November 6 Mariposa Port drug bust resulted in the arrest of a 25-year-old woman from Nogales, Mexico. She was driving a Jeep SUV and was directed to the secondary inspection area, where CBP officers found approximately 12 pounds of meth hidden under the Jeep’s front seats. The drugs were valued at approximately $35,000.
And the other Nogales international border drug bust on that Sunday was at the DeConcini crossing, where a drug interdiction team of a CBP canine and officers located more than 29 pounds of cocaine in the front and rear bumpers of a Nissan sedan driven by a 30-year-old Nogales, Mexico woman. The drugs were valued to be worth more than $330,000.
Customs and Border Protection processed all drugs and vehicles for seizure. The alleged Nogales international drug smugglers were arrested and turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations unit.
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
