CBP Officers Seize Almost $1 Million in Marijuana at San Luis, Ariz. Port of Entry

12/13/2006

San Luis, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Luis, Ariz. port of entry stopped an attempted smuggling of almost 280 pounds of marijuana last Thursday.

At around 3:30 on December 7, a CBP officer screening people and vehicles entering the United States asked routine questions of 31-year-old Sergio Rivera. The officer became suspicious of Rivera’s immigration documents. At the same time, one of CBP’s narcotics interdiction dogs alerted to the odor or narcotics coming from the 1998 Nissan Quest van Rivera was driving.

Because of the drug dog alert and their suspicions about Rivera’s documents, the officer decided the vehicle and driver warranted a more in-depth investigation, so he was escorted to an area where vehicles are searched. During the search, CBP officers discovered almost 280 pounds of marijuana hidden throughout the vehicle.

The driver, from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, was immediately arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for prosecution.

Estimated street value of the marijuana is almost $900,000.