TUCSON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Raul Hector Castro Port in Douglas, Arizona, arrested an 18-year-old Arizona woman after finding almost 250 pounds of marijuana hidden throughout her 2008 Toyota Camry.
When the woman attempted to enter the U.S. Friday afternoon, a CBP officer directed the woman to a secondary inspection area. Once in secondary, officers discovered anomalies that turned out to be more than 200 packages of marijuana.
Officers seized the drugs, worth close to $125,000, and vehicle. The driver 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.
