CBP officers arrest meth smugglers at Port of San Luis

Contributed Photo/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Officers discovered packages of meth within a speaker box inside a smuggling vehicle.

Contributed Photo/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Officers discovered packages of meth within a speaker box inside a smuggling vehicle. 

Contributed Article/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection

SAN LUIS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, officers arrested 3 U.S. citizens for separate alleged attempts to smuggle methamphetamine through the Port of San Luis since the beginning of the month, worth a total of more than $157,000.

Thursday afternoon, officers referred a 19-year-old San Luis, Arizona resident for additional inspection of his Nissan coupe as he attempted to enter the U.S. through the port. A CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to a scent it was trained to detect, within a speaker compartment. More than 30 packages of meth were removed from the speaker box, with an estimated weight of nearly 64 pounds and worth almost $58,000.

Contributed Photo/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Smugglers attempted to hide packages of drugs within the rear seats of a smuggling vehicle.

Friday afternoon, officers selected a 28-year-old San Luis, Arizona resident for a further search of his Ford sedan as he attempted to enter the U.S. through the port. A CBP canine alerted to the back of the vehicle, where officers located and seized more than 52 pounds of meth, worth in excess of $47,000.

And on Sunday evening, officers selected a 19-year-old San Luis, Arizona man for a search of his Volkswagen sedan as he attempted to enter the U.S. through the port. The search, after a positive alert by a CBP canine, led officers to remove more than 40 packages of meth from throughout the vehicle. The drugs weighed more than 57 pounds and have an estimated value of almost $52,000.

 Officers seized the drugs and vehicles, while the subjects were arrested and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.