Agents nab 12, seize $4.5 million in drugs in 15 days
FROM STAFF REPORTS
July 17, 2007 - 2:43PM
LOANED PHOTO / U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION175 pounds of marijuana were discovered in a compartment built into the bed of a pickup. In the first 15 days of July, agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection have seized $4.5 million in narcotics and arrested 12 fugitives at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz.

The agency announced the seizures and arrests in a press statement Tuesday.

Here is a timeline of the biggest seizures and arrests:

* On July 6, officers screening incoming vehicles inspected the vehicle of a 40-year-old man from San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., and discovered almost 75 pounds of marijuana. The drugs were hidden in the roof of the 1999 Ford Escort he was driving.

* On July 8, officers arrested a 20-year-old man from Mexicali, Baja Calif., after 175 pounds of marijuana were discovered inside a secret compartment. The hiding place was built into the bed of the 1994 Dodge Ram the man was driving.

*On July 9, officers seized almost 70 pounds of cocaine hidden inside the side panels of a pickup driven by a 44-year-old man from San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.

* On July 11, officers arrested a 22-year-old Mexican citizen from Yuma after seizing almost 48 pounds of marijuana. The drugs were hidden inside the gas tank of a 2000 Jeep Cherokee.

* On July 13, officers discovered more than 203 pounds of marijuana hidden inside a compartment built into the bed of a pickup. Agents arrested the driver, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen from Somerton.

The 12 fugitives arrested included:

* A 34-year-old woman from Phoenix wanted on DUI charges.

* A 30-year-old woman from San Diego wanted on a U.S. Marshals Service warrant on probation charges.

* A 24-year-old man from Phoenix wanted on aggravated assault charges.

* A 32-year-old man from North Carolina wanted on a U.S. Marshals Service warrant for indecent acts.

* A 29-year-old woman from San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., wanted on vehicle theft charges.

* Two juveniles from Yuma wanted on warrants for missing-juvenile runaways.

Darin Fenger can be reached at
dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.
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