Feds Seize 200 Pounds of Meth, Cocaine in Arizona

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized nearly 200 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine in separate smuggling attempts in southern Arizona.

The first incident reportedly occurred on Friday when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working Arizona’s San Luis Port Entry contacted a 39-year old female from Mexico and referred her for additional inspection of her Ford truck as she was attempting to enter the U.S. Following an alert by a CBP narcotics detection K-9, officers discovered packages of meth concealed inside a spare tire and speaker box. The drugs reportedly weighed in excess of 106 pounds with an estimated value of more than $318,000. The Mexican national was arrested while her vehicle and contraband were seized.

The second incident reportedly occurred Tuesday at 5:15 pm when CBP agents assigned to the Wellton Station on Interstate 8 referred a 2009 Nissan Cube driven by a 44-year-old woman from Somerton, Arizona, was referred to a secondary inspection. A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded 51 packages of meth weighing 87 pounds and another five pounds of cocaine located in a false compartment. The methamphetamine and cocaine have a combined estimated worth of more than $320,000. The unidentified female was determined to be a lawfully admitted permanent resident from Mexico. Her vehicle and contraband were seized.

Breitbart Texas recently reported that northern Mexican areas abutting California and Arizona are witnessing a rash of high-profile drug busts. The seizures consisted of contraband primarily destined for the U.S. drug markets.

The Mexican Army made two seizures in Ensenada on August 17 (1,036 pounds of meth, heroin, and fentanyl) and August 18 (1,653 pounds of meth, fentanyl, and marijuana).

The Mexican Army discovered an active drug lab on August 25 in Tecate and seized four tons of methamphetamine.

The Mexican Federal Police seized 350 pounds of methamphetamine in an active drug lab in Tijuana on August 26.

The Mexican Federal Police seized 20,000 fentanyl pills in an active lab in Mexicali on September 10.

The Mexican Federal Police seized 550 pounds of methamphetamine in Tijuana on September 12.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)