TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested three individuals from neighboring Nogales, Sonora, Mexico during separate weekend smuggling attempts at the Nogales West (Mariposa) crossing in Nogales.
A combination of meth and heroin were removed from a smuggling vehicle, after a service canine team alerted to an area behind the front seat
Officers first referred a 34-year-old man for a secondary inspection of his Ford SUV on May 13. A positive CBP narcotics-detection canine led officers to almost 21 pounds of meth worth nearly $63,000.
On May 14, officers referred a 50-year-old man for an inspection of his Dodge truck. Again, with assistance from a narcotics-detection canine, officers found almost 11 pounds of meth, worth more than $32,000, and nearly 42 pounds of heroin exceeding $724,000 in value.
Finally, on May 15, a narcotics-detection canine helped officers find more than 13 pounds of meth, worth an estimated $39,000, in a Ford sedan driven by 28-year-old woman.
Officers seized the vehicles and drugs, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
