TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville arrested a Mexican national involved in a failed smuggling attempt Wednesday.
cocaine seizure
Officers referred a 44-year-old Caborca, Sonora, Mexico man for a secondary inspection of his Chevy pickup after he applied to enter the United States. During the inspection a CBP canine alerted to an odor it is trained to detect, leading officers to the vehicle’s doors. The drugs were identified as cocaine, weighing more than 55 pounds and worth more than $1.3M.
Officers arrested the subject and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, after seizing the drugs and vehicle.
Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.