A 29-year-old Mexican national from Nogales, Sonora, traveling with his 26-year-old wife and three minor children, was arrested yesterday for attempting to smuggle more than $800,000 worth of cocaine and methamphetamines into the United States through the Dennis DeConcini Port.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from Tucson’s Office of Field Operations referred the driver for a secondary inspection of the family’s 1998 Chrysler. After a CBP drug detection canine alerted to the vehicle’s rear quarter panels, officers found nearly 77 pounds of cocaine worth more than $696,000, and slightly more than seven pounds of crystal methamphetamine valued at almost $112,000.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicle. The driver was U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. His wife was processed for withdrawal of application for admission to the United States. The minor children were released to the custody of their grandmother.
