Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents and their canine partners stopped two weekend smuggling attempts at immigration checkpoints near Tombstone and Three Points.
The first incident occurred Feb. 24 as two U.S. citizens in a PT Cruiser, awaiting immigration inspection on Highway 80 near Tombstone, passed by a canine that alerted to their vehicle.
Agents, subsequently directed the driver to a secondary inspection area where the canine again alerted to the vehicle.
During the search, agents located 30 bricks of marijuana, weighing more than 40 pounds combined, inside the vehicle’s seats and air filter compartment.
On Feb. 26, agents working at the immigration checkpoint near Three Points referred the driver and passenger of a Toyota truck for a secondary immigration inspection after a canine alerted to the truck’s bed.
During the follow-on inspection, an agent looked under the truck’s bedcover and found a Mexican national, illegally present in the U.S., hiding underneath. Agents also learned that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Phoenix.
(CBP Focus on Canines gives an overview of the history of CBP’s Canine Program. Courtesy of CBP and YouTube)
Agents arrested all individuals suspected of being involved in the smuggling attempts.
The Mexican national being smuggled is in custody pending immigration removal proceedings in accordance with Tucson Sector guidelines.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry.
CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
