Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than 250 pounds of illicit drugs being smuggled into the United States from Mexico. The seizures happened in separate incidents in the Yuma and Tucson Sectors.
Welton Station Border Patrol agents assigned to the Interstate 8 immigration checkpoint on Friday morning observed a Chevrolet Cruz approaching for inspection. During an initial contact interview, a K-9 detection team alerted to the possible presence of drugs in the vehicle, according to information obtained from Yuma Sector Border Patrol officials.
Agents directed the driver, a 24-year-old U.S. citizen from Avondale, Arizona, to a secondary inspection station. During a search of the vehicle, agents found a false compartment in the floorboard. Inside the compartment, agents found more than 100 packages filled with drugs, officials stated.
Agents report the packages contained 103 pounds of methamphetamine, ten pounds of cocaine, and four pounds of heroin. Combined, officials estimate the street value to be approximately $440,000.
Border Patrol officials reported the driver to be in possession of a Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) identification card. The card allows for expedited processing at the U.S.-Mexico border for travelers considered to be “low risk.”
Elsewhere on the Arizona border with Mexico, CBP officers assigned to the Nogales Port of Entry on Sunday observed a Chevrolet sedan approaching for entry into the United States. The officers referred the driver, a 37-year-old woman from Phoenix, to a secondary inspection station. During a search of the vehicle, officers found a plaster figurine filled with packages of drugs, officials reported.
The officers reported the packages contained four pounds of fentanyl, three pounds of cocaine, and nearly 11 pounds of heroin. They estimated the street value of the drugs to be in excess of $150,000.
Earlier on Sunday morning, officers observed a Lincoln SUV approaching for entry from Mexico. The officers directed the driver, a 49-year-old Mexican man to the inspection lot. An initial walk-around by a K-9 detection team resulted in an alert for an odor the K-9 is trained to detect. The officers search the vehicle and recovered 1.3 pounds of fentanyl and nearly 91 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated value of more than $100,000.
Also on Sunday, another 27-year-old Mexican national driving a Nissan sedan approached for entry to the U.S. A K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect leading to a search of the vehicle.
During the search, the officers found 30 pounds of cocaine and .26 pounds of fentanyl. Officials estimated the value of the seizure to be approximately $331,000.
In total, the CBP officers and Border Patrol agents stopped nearly $1 million worth of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin from making their way into the U.S.
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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