Nogales CBP Officers Seize more than $2 Million in Marijuana

Nogales, Ariz. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the Tucson Field Office, a component of the Customs and Border Protection’s Joint Field Command – Arizona, seized a significant load of marijuana at the Mariposa Port of Entry.

Officers screening travelers and vehicles coming into the country Tuesday selected a 2008 Bobtail truck entering through the passenger vehicle lanes for inspection. On the way to an inspection dock, the truck began showing mechanical problems, requiring officers to search for the cause of the vehicle’s problem before the truck could get to the inspection area. During the examination, officers discovered bundles of marijuana concealed in the truck’s cargo compartment. The narcotics, weighing more than 4,100 pounds and worth almost $2,074,000, were seized along with the vehicle. The driver, a 46-year-old male from Nogales, Sonora, was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). ICE HSI special agents also detained a second person (who was not in the vehicle) in connection with the investigation.

Individuals arrested are charged with a criminal complaint, which raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent 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. OFO 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.

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.