Lukeville, Ariz - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers (CBP) at the Lukeville port of entry have seized over $5 million worth of marijuana totaling almost 600 pounds since Friday from failed drug smuggling attempts.
On May 7th alone, CBP officers encountered three failed marijuana smuggling attempts. The first attempt was by a 28-year-old man driving a Chevrolet dually truck where packages of marijuana were discovered in the truck bed walls and the mounted tires. The marijuana weighed approximately 149 pounds and was seized along with the vehicle.
The second was attempted by a 56-year- old Phoenix resident driving a Dodge Durango where packages of marijuana were discovered in the gas tank. The marijuana weighed more than 105 pounds and was seized along with the vehicle.
The third attempt was by a 28-year-old woman driving a Chevrolet Suburban along with her two juvenile passengers where metal boxes of compressed marijuana were discovered in the gas tank. The marijuana weighed approximately 225 pounds and was seized along with the vehicle.
Another failed drug smuggling attempt occurred on May 9th at approximately 4:00 p.m. when a 21-year-old man driving a Jeep Cherokee who was accompanied by a passenger was found to have 97 packages of marijuana in the gas tank. The marijuana weighed more than 106 pounds and was seized along with the vehicle.
"The officers successes have been proven through these significant seizures because of their collaborated team efforts," said Acting Port Director Luz Galarza. "The front line officers and the narcotic detector dog teams see their hard work paying off."
In all four cases the drivers were taken into custody and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Field Operations is responsible for securing our borders at the ports of entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers' primary mission is anti-terrorism; they screen all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the United States. Their mission also includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration law, protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases, and enforcing trade laws. While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.