WASHINGTON: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of San Luis arrested a 27-year-old Somerton, Ariz. man after finding nearly 44 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine in his vehicle Thursday evening. Officers referred the man for a secondary inspection of his Hyundai sedan when he attempted to cross into the United States. As a result, a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the vehicle where officers found more than 16 pounds of meth, worth $48,000, and nearly 28 pounds of cocaine worth close to $314,000.
Officers arrested the driver for narcotics smuggling before seizing the drugs and vehicle. The suspected violator was 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 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.
