NEW YORK: Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized nearly half a million dollars in drugs and arrested 11 individuals in three separate incidents, officials said.
Customs and Border Protection officers arrested two Mexican nationals allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 18 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine, officials said.
CBP said a narcotics-detection dog found the drugs in the rear panels of a vehicle attempting to cross through the Dennis DeConcini crossing. Officers found 13 pounds of cocaine, worth almost $136,000, and more than five pounds of methamphetamine, worth close to $16,000, officials said.
A 39-year-old man from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, and his 32-year-old wife were arrested.
On the other day, agents at the Yuma Sector Border Patrol arrested nine Mexican nationals carrying a combined 281 pounds of marijuana south of Interstate 8, border patrol officials said. The drugs have a value of more than $140,500.
In another incident that same day, agents assigned to Camp Grip, Yuma Sector’s forward operating base, tracked footprints from five individuals returning to Mexico. Officials said the agents found 223 pounds of abandoned marijuana worth an estimated $111,400. No arrests were made.
