TUCSON: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Mariposa Commercial Facility seized $3,237,000 in marijuana – nearly 6,500 pounds – from a Mexican national Wednesday when he attempted to enter the United States through the Port of Nogales.
Officers discovered more than 140 packages of marijuana in a tractor-trailer driven by a 39-year-old man from Sonora, Mexico, following an alert by a CBP narcotics-detection canine.
Officers seized the drugs and tractor-trailer loaded with electronic parts and components. Officers referred the driver to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the 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.
