Separate drug seizures in two Mexican border states over the weekend netted 320 pounds of methamphetamine. The first operation occurred in Tijuana and the second on a highway leading to Ciudad Juárez. Two arrests were reported resulting from the incidents.
The first operation took place in Tijuana when investigative elements of the Federal Prosecutors Office (AIC) obtained a search warrant for a residence on Avenida Transpeninsular after intelligence suggested the house was being used to store a large quantity of methamphetamine. The warrant was executed on Friday morning. The AIC agents discovered numerous plastic containers sealed with adhesive tape, each filled with a granulated white substance. The total weight came out to approximately 220 pounds, according to local media reports. No arrests were reportedly made.
The second operation occurred on Saturday morning when federal officers tasked with patrolling Mexico’s highways stopped a speeding truck on highway Chihuahua-Juárez in Ahumada, approximately 70 miles from Ciudad Juárez. After Federal agents noted the driver, later identified as David Uriel “N.,” was behaving suspiciously, a full safety inspection of the truck was conducted. Agents discovered 24 packages concealed within the tires and each contained methamphetamine. The total weight came out to approximately 100 pounds. The driver and his wife, later identified as Diana Esther “N.G.,” were both arrested.
During questioning, the driver of the truck said they were traveling from Parral, Chihuahua, (approximately 360 miles south of Ciudad Juárez) and intended to cross into the United States via port of entry in El Paso with minor children to not draw suspicion from U.S. border inspectors, according to a statement released by the federal police.
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.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.