Women Smuggling 32 Lbs Cocaine Nabbed by Customs
Arizona Free Press
← Back to
Our Top Stories
EL PASO, TEXAS -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the El Paso port of entry seized 32 pounds of cocaine Tuesday night. The drugs were concealed within girdles worn by two women who attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico. The estimated street value of the seized cocaine is $640,000.
The seizure was made just after 8 p.m. Tuesday night at the Paso Del Norte crossing in downtown El Paso after a 1993 Buick Century arrived at the primary inspection booth. A CBP officer performing the primary inspection determined that some of the occupants of the vehicle were nervous and had a bulky appearance. The vehicle was sent to the secondary inspection area for a thorough exam. As CBP officers watched the occupants exit the vehicle, a CBP spotted a bundle protruding from the waistband of one of the women who had been in the car. A CBP drug-sniffing dog then alerted to the seat where the woman was sitting. CBP officers performed a pat down search of all four occupants and discovered that two were wearing girdles concealing bundles. The contents of the bundles tested positive for cocaine.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents arrested 36-year-old Martha Alicia Rincon Marquez of Juarez, Mexico. She was wearing a girdle holding five cocaine-filled bundles that weighed 13.1 pounds. ICE special agents also arrested 36-year-old Maria Del Carmen Castro Lucero of Juarez, Mexico. She was also wearing a girdle holding five bundles of cocaine that weighed 18.9 pounds.
This important and sizeable seizure was the direct result of a diligent and focused CBP officer performing a thorough primary inspection, said David Longoria, U.S. Customs and Border Protection El Paso Port Director. CBP officers must balance traffic facilitation with the need to insure that no harmful items or dangerous people enter the U.S. at a border port of entry. There is no job more important to the safety of the American public and our officers perform it admirably everyday, as demonstrated by this seizure.ÂÂÂ
Anti-terror is the primary mission of CBP however thorough inspections at border ports of entry continue to generate impressive enforcement activity in all areas.
The seizure was made just after 8 p.m. Tuesday night at the Paso Del Norte crossing in downtown El Paso after a 1993 Buick Century arrived at the primary inspection booth. A CBP officer performing the primary inspection determined that some of the occupants of the vehicle were nervous and had a bulky appearance. The vehicle was sent to the secondary inspection area for a thorough exam. As CBP officers watched the occupants exit the vehicle, a CBP spotted a bundle protruding from the waistband of one of the women who had been in the car. A CBP drug-sniffing dog then alerted to the seat where the woman was sitting. CBP officers performed a pat down search of all four occupants and discovered that two were wearing girdles concealing bundles. The contents of the bundles tested positive for cocaine.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents arrested 36-year-old Martha Alicia Rincon Marquez of Juarez, Mexico. She was wearing a girdle holding five cocaine-filled bundles that weighed 13.1 pounds. ICE special agents also arrested 36-year-old Maria Del Carmen Castro Lucero of Juarez, Mexico. She was also wearing a girdle holding five bundles of cocaine that weighed 18.9 pounds.
This important and sizeable seizure was the direct result of a diligent and focused CBP officer performing a thorough primary inspection, said David Longoria, U.S. Customs and Border Protection El Paso Port Director. CBP officers must balance traffic facilitation with the need to insure that no harmful items or dangerous people enter the U.S. at a border port of entry. There is no job more important to the safety of the American public and our officers perform it admirably everyday, as demonstrated by this seizure.ÂÂÂ
Anti-terror is the primary mission of CBP however thorough inspections at border ports of entry continue to generate impressive enforcement activity in all areas.