U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized nearly 187 pounds of heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine worth $3.1 million over the weekend during three vehicle inspections at the southern Arizona. The alleged seizures resulted in the arrests of four Mexican nationals and one U.S. citizen.
The first seizure occurred on Friday evening during a vehicle inspection when CBP officers assigned to Mariposa Crossing contacted three women from Nogales, Sonora, in a Volkswagen sedan. After officers conducted a thorough search, they discovered more than 91 pounds of heroin hidden within the vehicle’s floorboard. They also discovered just over three pounds of fentanyl, 17 pounds of cocaine, and 16 pounds of meth. The three women, ages 27, 38, 25, were arrested and turned over to U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
The second seizure occurred on Saturday night when CBP officers working the Mariposa Crossing contacted a 36-year old Nogales, Arizona, in a Lincoln SUV. A CBP K-9 led to two packages taped to his groin. One contained a quarter-pound of heroin and a half-pound of methamphetamine. The driver was arrested.
The third seizure occurred during the early morning hours on Sunday when CBP officers assigned to the Dennis DeConcini Crossing contacted a 22-year-old male from Caborca, Sonora, Mexico who was attempting to enter the U.S. in a Mazda SUV. After officers referred the driver to a secondary inspection, officers discovered several packages of drugs within the spare tire well and within the fuel tank. The packages were determined to contain methamphetamine with an approximate weight of 59 pounds valued at more than $177,000. The driver was arrested, and drugs seized and turned over to investigators of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
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.