Three Homicide Suspects Turn Themselves in at Nogales Port of Entry

Nogales, Arizona — Three men wanted in connection with a 2009 homicide in Tucson are now in custody after turning themselves in to Customs and Border Protection officers at the Nogales Port of Entry.

At 1:40 this morning, CBP officers screening people applying for admission into the country at the Dennis DeConcini port of entry in Nogales encountered 20-year-old Orel Vasquez, 26-year-old Christian Vasquez, and 29-year-old Juan Leon. All three men, Mexican citizens, told the officers they had warrants for their arrest and were turning themselves in. While none of the men had documents to enter the country, officers were able to run their names against the NCIC database and found that all three were wanted on homicide charges in Pima County, Arizona.

The three men were immediately taken into custody and turned over to the Nogales Police Department for further processing.

The Office of Field Operations is responsible for securing our borders at the ports of entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers’ primary mission is anti-terrorism; they screen all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the United States. Their mission also includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration law, protecting the nation’s food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases, and enforcing trade laws.

While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

This article was sponsored by Police Leadership Books.