$2 Million In Drugs Discovered

Updated: March 19, 2008 05:29 PM PDT


Posted By Jonathan Saupe KOLD News 13 Producer

U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Nogales port of entry seized almost 30 pounds of heroin and 39 pounds of cocaine Tuesday, arresting three people in connection with the failed smuggling attempts.

The first narcotics seizure happened at a little past 7:00 am Tuesday, when a CBP Officer screening incoming vehicles became suspicious of the driver of a 2002 Dodge Ram pickup and sent him in for inspection. Based on his answers to routine questions and discrepancies with the vehicle, officers searched the truck thoroughly and discovered a compartment built into the cab of the vehicle. When officers opened the vehicle, they discovered packages of narcotics hidden inside. The officers removed a total of 25 packages of heroin and 9 packages of cocaine. The heroin, weighing almost 29 pounds, and the cocaine, weighing more than 24 pounds, were seized along with the vehicle. The driver, a 30-year-old US citizen from Gilbert, was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation.

Estimated street value of the heroin and cocaine is $1.7 million.

The second narcotics seizure happened at around 10:45 am at the Morley pedestrian gate in Nogales, when a CBP officer questioning people coming in by foot stopped and questioned a 17-year-old girl from Nogales, Mexico. The officer became suspicious of her behavior and during a search of her belongings, discovered more than a pound of heroin inside a bag she was carrying. The heroin was seized and the girl was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation.

Estimated street value of the heroin is $60,000.

The third narcotics seizure happened a little before 2:00 pm yesterday when another CBP officer screening vehicles and people entering the United States became suspicious of the driver of a 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass and sent it in for inspection. Officers searching the vehicle discovered a compartment built into the car that contained six packages of cocaine, weighing more than 15 pounds. The cocaine and vehicle were seized, and the driver, a 27-year-old man from Mexico, was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Estimated street value of the cocaine is more than $300,000.

Since the beginning of October, CBP officers at the ports of entry in Arizona have stopped 10 attempts at smuggling heroin through the ports, seizing more than 106 pounds of the narcotic. They have also stopped 63 attempts at smuggling cocaine through the ports, seizing almost 1,900 pounds of the drug

Total estimated street value of the narcotics seized so far is almost $36 million.







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