CBP Seizes 123 Pounds of Meth & Heroin at Border Crossing

TUCSON, Ariz. –U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Nogales arrested a United States citizen Monday for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine and heroin through the Port of Nogales.

CBP officers at the DeConcini Crossing referred a 35-year-old Peoria, Ariz. resident for further inspection of her Honda sedan following an alert by a CBP narcotics detection canine to an odor it is trained to detect.

Officers found more than 90 packages, later identified as nearly 123 pounds of methamphetamine and almost two pounds of heroin.  The drugs have an estimated total of $412,000.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle.  The woman was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CBP’s Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation’s food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.