BIG DRUG BUSTS MADE AT NOGALES, DOUGLAS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than 58
pounds of methamphetamine, 18 pounds of cocaine and 100 pounds of
marijuana during the weekend at ports of entry in Nogales, Ariz.

On Friday, officers at the Mariposa Port of Entry seized more than 32
pounds of meth from a 20-year-old Nogales, Sonora, man as he tried to
smuggle the drugs across in a 1989 Ford van, according to a news
release from Customs and Border Protection. The van was searched
after a narcotics dog named Max alerted officers. The 20 packages of
meth were discovered hidden inside the walls of the van. The driver
was arrested.

On Saturday, officers found about 18 pounds of cocaine hidden in a
2004 Ford Focus as it attempted to cross at the DeConcini Port of
Entry. The drugs were found when a narcotics dog named Trouble
alerted officers. The 24-year-old driver from Hermosillo, Sonora, was
arrested, according to the news release.

On Sunday, Customs and Border Protection officers at the DeConcini
port seized 26 pounds of meth that a 19-year-old man from Nogales,
Sonora, was trying to bring across in a Honda CR-V. Max alerted
officers to the presence, and the SUV was searched. Officers found 25
packages of meth. The driver was arrested.

Also Sunday morning, officers at the Mariposa and DeConcini ports
seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana in two incidents.

In other incidents during the weekend, officers at the Douglas Port
of Entry seized about 400 pounds of marijuana and arrested six people
in attempted-smuggling efforts.

The largest of the seizures occurred Saturday when two men from
Phoenix were arrested while trying to smuggle 217 pounds of pot
across, said a Customs and Border Protection news release. The drugs
were found hidden in the gas tank of a 1998 Chevrolet Suburban. A
drug dog named Jessy alerted officers, prompting them to search the SUV.