Big Narcotics Seizures at AZ Ports

TUCSON, Ariz Amid a myriad of enforcement actions including fugitive apprehensions and stopping prohibited agricultural from being smuggled across the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers at the Arizona ports of entry seized more than 3,200 pounds of marijuana and cocaine when they stopped more than $12.5 million worth of illicit drugs from making it into the country. The largest seizure occurred on Friday, June 9th when CBP officers working at the commercial facility in Nogales arrested the 24-year-old driver of a tractor-trailer containing more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana. While the tractor was waiting in line for processing, a CBP drug dog, "Robbie," alerted the officers to narcotics odor. The officers decided to use the Vehicle And Container Inspection System (VACIS) to perform a preliminary examination of the trailer and while the vehicle was waiting for the examination, another drug dog, "Tauras," alerted to narcotics odor. Officers then screened the vehicle with the VACIS, which showed discrepancies in the contents. The trailer was then unloaded and 161 bundles of marijuana were found to be hidden at the front of the trailer, behind empty racks used for auto parts. Estimated street value of the marijuana is almost $10 million. The driver, a Mexican citizen from Hermosillo, was turned over to the Santa Cruz County Metro Task Force. The Vehicle And Container Inspection System (VACIS) is a sophisticated system used by CBP officers at ports of entry that allows officers to view an image of vehicles and their contents without unloading everything. This allows CBP officers to quickly screen vehicles, helping them choose only those that need additional inspection and releasing those that don't. CBP officers working at the San Luis port of entry arrested a 34-year-old man from San Luis Rio Colorado after finding 64 pounds of cocaine hidden in a compartment built into the bed of a 2005 Chevy Tornado. After officers became suspicious of the driver and began inspecting the vehicle, they asked for another drug dog, "Nelo" to assist them. When "Nelo" alerted to the odor of narcotics, the officers searched the vehicle thoroughly and discovered the compartment. A total of 25 packages of cocaine were removed. Estimated street value of the cocaine is more than $1.6 million. The driver, a Mexican citizen, was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. During the same weekend, CBP officers seized an additional 27 pounds of cocaine and 82 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of more than $950,000, during four more failed attempts to smuggle the illicit drugs into the country. Officers also apprehended eight people with warrants for their arrest on charges including assault, possession of narcotics, failure to appear, and probation violation. They also stopped two attempts to smuggle people into the US by using either counterfeit documents or documents that didn't belong to them and arrested three people who attempted to sneak themselves into the country after they had been deported. Officers stopped five attempts to smuggle small amounts of heroin, methamphetamines, marijuana, prescription medicine, and steroids.