National Guard Aircrew Helps Spot Drug Mule in Arizona Desert

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrest an alleged illegal alien drug mule who they foun
File Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Tucson Sector

A National Guard aircrew assisted U.S. Border Patrol agents in apprehending a group of illegal aliens in the southern Arizona desert. Agents discovered one was carrying a small load of methamphetamine.

Tucson Sector Mobile Response Team Border Patrol agents and a National Guard aircrew responded to a report of six people walking in a known drug smuggling area in southern Arizona. The National Guard helicopter aircrew, operating under President Donald Trump’s Operation Guardian Support, transported the agents to the scene where they began tracking the six men with the assistance of a K-9 team, according to information obtained from Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrest an alleged illegal alien drug mule who they found with six pounds of meth. (Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Tucson Sector)

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrest an alleged illegal alien drug mule who they found with six pounds of meth. (Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Tucson Sector)

The team eventually tracked down the group of six and found one to be carrying four packages of methamphetamine. The agents found the drugs in a small box packed inside the “mule’s” backpack. During a search of the immediate area, agents also found a two-way radio commonly utilized by the drug smugglers in the area.

Agents identified the group as Mexican nationals with no legal documentation to be in the United States, officials reported.

Border Patrol agents find six bundles of methamphetamine inside a backpack allegedly carried by an illegal alien from Mexico. (Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Tucson Sector)

Border Patrol agents find six bundles of methamphetamine inside a backpack allegedly carried by an illegal alien from Mexico. (Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Tucson Sector)

The agents transported the six Mexican men, the drugs, and the communications equipment to the Casa Grande Border Patrol Station for processing. Homeland Security Investigations special agents took custody of the six men and the seized drugs for further investigations.

Officials reported that all six of the illegal aliens have previously been deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations officers.

In addition to allegedly smuggling the methamphetamine, all six could face federal felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal. If convicted on the charge, they could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.

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