APRIL 8, 2015
Border Report
Yuma arrests 11 illegal immigrants who attempted to circumvent I-8 checkpoint
YUMA –Wellton Station Border Patrol agents observed two vehicles travelling through Dome Valley at different times March 31 in what appeared to be attempts to circumvent the Interstate 8 Border Patrol check point.
Agents stopped one vehicle at Mile Marker 32 and another at County 7th and Avenue 19E, resulting in the arrest of 11 undocumented immigrants.
Agents processed all subjects and both vehicles per Yuma Sector guidelines.
Arizona CBP Officers Seize $343k in Hard Drugs
TUCSON – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a pair of Mexican nationals for failed attempts to smuggle methamphetamine and heroin through the Port of Nogales.
After officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing selected Brenda Patricia Carrizoza-Peralta, 30, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of her Ford truck on March 31, a narcotics-detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs. As a result, officers found more than six pounds of heroin, worth about $90,000, hidden within the rear axles.
On April 1, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred a Dodge truck being driven by Ramon Orlando Rosas-Meraz, 54, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection. After a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to the firewall, officers located and removed 23 packages of drugs. Six of the packages contained more than 14 pounds of heroin worth more than $198,000 while 17 other packages contained more than 18 pounds of meth worth more than $54,000.
Officers processed the vehicle and drugs for seizure, and referred Carrizoza and Rosas 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.
389 pounds of marijuana seized near Gila Bend
YUMA – Wellton Border Patrol agents assisted by a Yuma sector detection canine encountered and arrested five illegal immigrants in two separate weekend incidences near Gila Bend.
Agents observed the subjects carrying several bundles of marijuana into the United States. In total, agents seized approximately 389 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $194,500.
Agricultural pest stopped at Nogales Port of Entry
First of its kind in the nation
NOGALES — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the Mariposa commercial cargo facility here discovered Claudinerobius slateri, an insect never before found in the United States.
“These interceptions are exactly what keep Nogales CBP agriculture specialists motivated every day to protect our nation from invasions of harmful foreign insects, as well as plant and animal diseases,” said Port Director Guadalulpe Ramirez.
On March 20, agriculture specialists were inspecting a commercial shipment of celery from Mexico when they found the insect. Local U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel officially identified the specimen on March 23. According to available records in the Pest Identification Database, the USDA’s National Identification Services on March 30 confirmed this is the first time this pest has been intercepted at a U.S. port of entry. The shipment was fumigated for eventual release into U.S. commerce.
CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in agricultural and biological inspections. Their historic mission of preventing the introduction of harmful plant pests into the United States provides CBP with the expertise needed to recognize and prevent the entry of organisms that could potentially devastate entire segments of our agriculture-related economy.
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 plant pests and foreign animal diseases, and enforcing trade laws.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at ports of entry greatly increases the number of enforcement actions in all categories.
