Nogales CBP officers seize $1.9 million worth of hard drugs

Contributed Photo/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection: CBP officers at the DeConcici Crossing seized 123 pounds of meth from throughout a Ford sedan early Friday morning. 

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 515 pounds of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl over the past 5 days. 11 U.S. citizens and a Mexican national are in custody for their connection to the drug seizures.

Contributed Photo/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection: CBP officers at the Port of Nogales seized a combination of fentanyl, heroin, and meth from beneath the seats of a smuggling vehicle.

Several of the most significant seizures include the following;

Early Friday morning, officers at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing referred a 47-year-old female for further inspection of her Ford sedan when she attempted to enter the U.S. After a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to the presence of a scent it was trained to detect, officers removed more than 120 packages from throughout the vehicle. The packages, which were determined to be methamphetamine, weighed 123 pounds, with an estimated value of worth nearly $111,000.

A short time later, officers at the DeConcini Crossing referred a 38-year-old man for an additional search of his Jeep SUV as he attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico. An alert by a CBP canine to the right rear side of the vehicle led officers to remove 40 packages of meth, which weighed nearly 44 pounds, with an estimated value of more than $39,000.

That afternoon, officers at the DeConcini Crossing referred a 19-year-old woman for further inspection of her Chevy SUV, when she attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico. A canine alert led officers to the discovery of more than 30 packages of heroin, within the doors of the vehicle. The drugs weighed almost 87 pounds, with an estimated value of more than $989,000.

Monday morning, a 30-year-old Tucson woman was referred for a secondary inspection of her Nissan sedan, as she attempted to cross back into the U.S. from Mexico. A canine alert led officers to beneath the seats, where they removed nearly 50 packages of drugs. Five of the packages contained almost 13 pounds of fentanyl, worth nearly $137,000. Three of the packages contained more than five pounds of heroin, worth over $61,000. And the balance of the packages was identified as nearly 41 pounds of meth, worth near $37,000.

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