TUCSON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville arrested a 31-year-old Phoenix woman Tuesday for an alleged attempt to smuggle close to $180,000 worth of marijuana into the United States.
A CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted officers to the drugs when the woman attempted to drive through the port towing a boat filled with nearly 360 pounds of marijuana behind her Chevrolet truck.
Officers seized the drugs, truck and boat, and turned the suspect 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.
