TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested two Mexican men for separate attempts to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine through the Port of Nogales recently.
CBP officers discovered packages of heroin within the suitcases of a pedestrian crosser through the Port of Nogales
Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred a 23-year-old from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico for further inspection of his Chevrolet sedan when he attempted to enter the U.S. on March 12. During the inspection, a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs within the vehicle’s rear quarter panel where officers found more than five pounds of heroin, valued at nearly $71,000, and more than 11 pounds of meth exceeding $33,000 in value.
Later in the day, officers at the DeConcini pedestrian lanes referred a 22-year-old man from Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico for further questioning. During questioning, a drug canine alerted to the man’s suitcases containing six packages of heroin weighing more than seven pounds and worth in excess of $104,000.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and turned both subjects over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.