Nogales CBP Officers stop Meth smuggling attempt

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Nogales arrested a Mexican national connected with a failed attempt to smuggle methamphetamine into the United States on Saturday .

CBP officers at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing said they referred a 24-year-old Mexican man from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of his Ford SUV Saturday morning. A CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to a scent it was trained to detect within the vehicle’s rear quarter panels. Officers removed multiple packages of drugs, which were identified as nearly 11 pounds of methamphetamine, worth more than $32,000.

Officers seized the drugs as well as the vehicle. The subject was arrested and then 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 for 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.