TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Border Patrol agents, a Border Patrol canine, and a CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter crew arrested six drug smugglers and seized several packages of meth Wednesday afternoon, approximately 30 miles east of Lukeville.
Border Patrol agents utilizing detection technology briefly spotted the group walking northbound from the border in an area well-known to agents as a drug smuggling corridor. Agents began to track footprints, which led them to several backpacks laying in the dirt. Meanwhile, the helicopter crew began searching the area and spotted several individuals attempting to hide in brush nearby.
Agents arrested four Guatemalans, one Ecuadorian, and one Mexican national. The backpacks contained over 25 pounds of meth.
The men and drugs were turned over to ICE Homeland Security Investigations for further processing and investigation.
This is the second incident of this type in the Tucson Sector in the past month. It is becoming more common for smugglers to backpack hard narcotics through remote parts of the desert on routes historically used for marijuana trafficking.