NOGALES DRUGS TOTAL $1M

Tucson Region

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have seized more than $1
million worth of illegal drugs at the Nogales ports of entry during
separate incidents since Monday, an official said.

"The days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday have been productive
for U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers," CBP spokesman Brian
D. Levin wrote in a news release. "Officers intercepted more than 92
pounds of cocaine and more than 350 pounds of marijuana."

The seizures resulted in three men being arrested, two of whom are
from Mexico and one who is from California, the news release said.

The latest incident occurred Tuesday at about 7:30 p.m. when a
22-year-old man from Nogales, Sonora, was sent for an intensive
inspection as he tried to enter Arizona at the DeConcini Port of Entry.

When officers searched his vehicle, a 2005 Fiat Palio, they found 40
packages of cocaine, worth nearly $800,000, hidden in a compartment
in the back of the car, according to the release.

On Monday at the Mariposa Port of Entry, a 52-year-old California man
tried to smuggle almost 90 pounds of marijuana in a compartment that
was built into the bed of a 1998 GMC pickup, officials said. The pot
is worth $66,000. Also on Monday, one hour earlier, at 8 p.m., a
32-year-old man from Mexico was stopped at Mariposa when he tried to
drive past the port of entry by going the wrong way up the lanes used
to drive into Mexico, the release said. When his vehicle was
searched, officers discovered 12 bales of marijuana, worth $200,000 ,
hidden in the back of the Chevrolet Blazer he was driving, the release said.