K-9 Detects Heroin Hidden in Migrant Woman's Groin, Says Border Patrol

BTucson Sector Border Patrol K-9 detected heroin being smuggled by a Mexican woman legally present in the U.S. Officials said the woman hid a “bundle of heroin in her groin.”

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Interstate 19 immigration checkpoint observed a Volkswagen Jetta approaching for inspection on Tuesday afternoon. A Border Patrol K-9 agent alerted to the possible presence of drugs, according to information obtained from Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials.

The agent referred the driver and the passenger to a secondary inspection station. Border Patrol agents carried out an immigration interview and search of the vehicle and its occupants. During the interview, agents determined the passenger to be a Mexican national legally present in the U.S. The search of the woman led to the discovery that she concealed “a bundle of heroin in her groin.”

Border Patrol officials said the heroin weighed about 295 grams. The report did not disclose the value of the illicit drug.

Agents arrested the woman and charged her with narcotics smuggling, according to the Border Patrol press release. Officials did not disclose if the agency seized the vehicle or if the driver was involved in the failed drug smuggling attempt.

Elsewhere in the Tucson Sector, agents assigned to the State Route 85 Immigration Checkpoint arrested a Phoenix woman after they discovered two illegal aliens hidden in the trunk of her Nissan Altima. A Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the possible presence of drug or human cargo in the vehicle’s trunk during the primary inspection. The agents referred the driver, a U.S. citizen from Phoenix, to the secondary station where a search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a 25-year-old Mexican man and a 22-year-old Guatemalan woman locked in the trunk.

Agents determined both migrants to be illegally present in the U.S.

“Locking persons in a trunk poses a significant safety threat to the individuals’ life and well-being,” Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials said in a written statement.”

Agents arrested the Phoenix woman on human smuggling charges and processed the two foreign nationals for immigration violations.