AUGUST 19, 2015
Weekly Arizona Border Report
Douglas CBP Officers Seize $198K in Marijuana
Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Mexican national and a U.S. citizen during separate smuggling incidents this week at the Port of Douglas.
Officers arrested Yadira Suseth Madrid-Tanabe, 20, of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, after an inspection led to the discovery of nearly 276 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $138,000, throughout her Chevrolet SUV on Aug. 12.
On Aug. 11, officers arrested Christina Madeline De La Cruz, a 26-year-old U.S. citizen living in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, after finding nearly 120 pounds of marijuana, worth almost $60,000, during an inspection of her Nissan sedan.
Officers seized all drugs and vehicles, and referred both subjects to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Nogales CBP Officers Seize $487K in Hard Drugs
Customs and Border Protection officers apprehended two Mexican nationals and two U.S. citizens allegedly involved in separate smuggling attempts this week at the Port of Nogales, resulting in the seizure of more than 101 pounds of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.
After officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred Manuel Gomez-Rivas, 23, of Culiacan, Sonora, Mexico, for a secondary inspection of his Ford sedan Aug. 11, a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the vehicle’s front wheel wells. Officers then found more than 41 pounds of methamphetamine worth in excess of $123,000.
At approximately the same time, officers at the Mariposa crossing found more than 17 pounds of cocaine and nearly 10 pounds of meth in a Dodge truck driven by Shawn Jeannine Emmons, 53, of Benson, Arizona. A CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted officers to the drugs, worth approximately $210,000 combined.
On Aug. 13, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred Xavier Rabago Bolivar, 26, of Tucson, for further inspection of his Ford truck and found more than 10 pounds of meth, valued at more than $31,000. A narcotics canine alerted officers to the drugs in the rear bumper area.
Later that day, officers at the same crossing referred Luis Angel Verdugo-Robles, 32, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of his Ford sedan and discovered almost 16 pounds of meth, valued at close to $47,000, and more than seven pounds of cocaine worth almost $76,000.
CBP officers arrested all four subjects and turned them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Officers also processed the vehicles and drugs for seizure.
CBP Officers Seize $119,000 in Hard Drugs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a 20-year-old U.S. citizen on Aug. 11 for allegedly attempting to smuggle nearly 16 pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin through the Port of San Luis.
Officers referred Kenneth Alejandro Gonzalez-Rubio, of Tecate, Baja, Mexico, for a secondary inspection of his Ford truck during an attempt to enter the United States. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the vehicle’s headliner, officers found nearly $67,000 in heroin, more than $26,000 in cocaine and almost $26,000 in methamphetamine.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, while Gonzalez was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Naco CBP Officers Seize $70K in Marijuana
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a 20-year-old Tucson man Aug. 11 for an alleged attempt to smuggle 139 pounds of marijuana through the Port of Naco.
Officers selected Bernardo Ramirez-Ramirez, for further inspection of his Chevrolet sedan when he attempted to enter the U.S. and found multiple packages of marijuana throughout the vehicle valued at nearly $70,000.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and referred Ramirez to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
CBP ‘Predator’ Crew Finds Lost Immigrants in Desert
A “Predator B” Unmanned Aircraft System, piloted out of Sierra Vista, Arizona, is credited for saving the lives of three individuals lost in Arizona’s desert earlier this month.
Agents staffing the Joint Intelligence Operations Center in Tucson received a 911 call on Aug. 4 from immigrants lost in the desert and in need of urgent medical care.
A UAS Predator B crew from Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine, as well as the National Air Security Operations Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona, kicked into gear to help Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents search for the lost group.
The Predator B is equipped with a radar uniquely capable of finding people in vast open spaces. Within approximately 10 minutes after the initial call, the UAS crew spotted the migrants and relayed a video to screens within the JIOC. Now able to pinpoint the group’s location, JIOC staff dispatched a Border Patrol Search and Rescue Team helicopter to pick up and transport them to a Tucson hospital.
The UAS crew was credited with saving the life of one individual and rescuing the other two.
NASOC-SV Director Dennis Michelini stated, “I’m tremendously proud of the work our crews put in to save these individuals.”
Douglas CBP Officers Seize $111K in Marijuana
Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Efren Antonio Bracamonte, 33, of Douglas, for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 220 pounds of marijuana through the Port of Douglas on August 10.
Officers found packages of marijuana, worth almost $111,000, during a search of Bracamonte’s Chevrolet sedan.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, while Bracamonte was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
CBP Officers Seize more than $484K in Hard Drugs
Officers seized nearly 38 pounds of heroin and cocaine during separate weekend smuggling attempts at the Port of Nogales.
Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred Onexy Martinez-Meza, 20, a permanent resident alien living in Phoenix, for further questioning and a secondary inspection of his Mazda on August 8. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to car’s backseat, officers removed more than 16 pounds of heroin worth in excess of $231,000.
A short time later, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred Guadalupe Arredondo-Flores, 35, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of her Ford SUV. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to a rear quarter panel, officers removed nearly 14 pounds of cocaine worth almost $142,000.
Officers at the same crossing also arrested Nathan Smith, a resident of Dixie, Washington, after finding nearly eight pounds of heroin, valued at close to $112,000, concealed in the transmission of his Dodge station wagon on August 9.
Officers seized all drugs and vehicles, and after arrest turned all three subjects 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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP strives to keep terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
