TUCSON, Ariz. – Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested four men and seized an estimated $224,000 worth of heroin during two incidents Wednesday evening.
The first incident occurred when agents attempted to stop two vehicles driving in tandem near the intersection of E. Pastime Road and 4th Ave. in Tucson. The first driver, in a Ford Taurus, stopped and immediately fled on foot carrying a backpack, which he soon threw onto the roof of a nearby building. Agents quickly apprehended the suspect and retrieved the backpack, later found to contain almost 6 pounds of heroin worth more than $210,000.
The driver of the second vehicle, a Chevrolet pickup truck, was apprehended without incident. Both men were later identified as Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States.
During a second incident, agents working at the Highway 90 Immigration Checkpoint referred the driver and passenger, both U.S. citizens, of a BMW SUV to a secondary inspection area. After a canine alerted to an odor it was trained to detect, agents discovered 12 ounces of Mexican brown heroin, worth approximately $13,000, inside the vehicle.
Agents seized all drugs and vehicles involved. The four individuals were arrested and will be processed in accordance with Tucson Sector guidelines.