Federal officers seized nearly $1.9 million in methamphetamine and marijuana at the Mexican border with Arizona.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the Mariposa Commercial Facility in the Tucson Sector stopped two drug smuggling attempts and seized nearly a ton of drugs. The attempted drug smuggling occurred at the Nogales Port of Entry, according to information obtained on December 2 by Breitbart Texas from CBP officials.
A K-9 officer detected the possible presence of drugs on November 23 in the back of a tractor-trailer being driven by a Mexican national. A search of the trailer revealed over 300 packages containing what officers believed to be methamphetamine. The shipment was camouflaged by a load of Chinese vegetables and was hidden in the floor of the trailer.
After testing the drugs, the officers determined the load contained over 350 pounds of methamphetamine making it the 2nd largest meth seizure by CBP officers in the Tucson Field Office, officials stated. This shipment of meth was estimated to have a street value of $1.06 million.
The 51-year-old man from Obregon, Sonora, Mexico was arrested and the truck and drugs were seized.
Two days later, another K-9 officer alerted to the possible presence of drugs in an empty trailer being driven across the border from Mexico. Officers searched the trailer and found over 1,600 pounds of marijuana hidden in the roof of the empty tractor-trailer.
Officers arrested the 37-year-old man from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. They also seized the tractor-trailer and the marijuana. Officials estimated the value of the 1,600 pounds of marijuana to be worth over $800,000 on the streets.
The total value of the two drug seizures came to over $1.9 million worth of methamphetamine and marijuana.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.