Nogales officers seize 17,060 pounds of marijuana hidden as aircraft parts
CBP officers at the Mariposa crossing seized about 17,060 pounds of marijuana worth more than $8.5 million on 12 February 2016, hidden in boxes marked as aircraft parts. The driver was arrested and referred to Homeland Security Investigations; CBP called it Arizona's second-largest port seizure.
🇺🇸 Mariposa commercial facility, port of Nogales, Arizona · Arizona, United States
Customs and Border Protection officers at the Mariposa commercial facility seized approximately 17,060 pounds of marijuana on Friday 12 February 2016 from a tractor-trailer whose load of six palletized boxes, marked as aircraft parts, hid the drug.[1][2]A narcotics detection canine had alerted officers to the rig, driven by Gerardo Cruz, 23, of Colonia La Mesa, Sonora, Mexico, and the agency valued the load at more than $8.5 million.[1][2]
Cruz, a Mexican national, was arrested and transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.[1][2]“Near record seizures such as this are the result of a combined effort by our officers, canine, and technology,” said Nogales Port Director Guadalupe Ramirez.[1][2]The agency called it the second-largest marijuana seizure in Arizona port history, after more than 20,000 pounds seized in November 2013.[1][2]
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