CBP officers seize $324K worth of meth, fentanyl

Officers found the drugs at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing.

Contributed Article Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection

NOGALES – U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, officers at the Port of Nogales seized more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl Wednesday.

CBP Officers at the Dennis DeConcini Pedestrian Crossing referred a 30-year-old Nogales, Arizona man for further inspection when he attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico early Wednesday morning. When officers were searching his belongings, they located a package of drugs inside his backpack. The contents were identified as .008 lb. of fentanyl, with an estimated value of more than $100.

Contributed Photo/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Officers removed a package of fentanyl from the backpack of a Nogales, Ariz. man.

Later in the early morning, a 29-year-old Mexican national was referred for further inspection of his Chevy SUV, when he attempted to enter through the DeConcini Crossing. After an alert by a CBP narcotics detection canine to a scent it is trained to detect, officers removed more than 100 packages of methamphetamine from the quarter panels and tailgate. The drugs weighed more than 108 pounds, with an estimated value of more than $324,000.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle. The subjects were both arrested and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.