(The Center Square) – Another major drug bust occurred along the southern border in Arizona last week.
United States Customs and Border Protection stopped 47 pounds of cocaine and 80 pounds of methamphetamine at the Area Port of San Luis in two separate seizures made on the same day at the same port.
Both drivers were United States citizens and were “turned over” to the Homeland Security Investigations Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to the news release, the seizures took place shortly after each other around 6 a.m. and both were driving pickup trucks. The release added that the estimated cost of both drugs collected combined was $668,000. The meth was worth roughly $169,000 and the cocaine was worth $499,000. The drugs were hidden in packages, and K-9s were used in the process to sniff out the illicit substances.
“Amazing work done by our officers, K9 teams, and imaging systems operators in such a short amount of time,” Chris Leon, Area Port Director for San Luis, said in a statement on Wednesday. “These two seizures really highlight the multiple layers of inspection CBP has at the port of entry.”
Drug interdictions at the southern border or nearby are a common occurrence, as fentanyl, meth, cocaine, and other drugs are considered a money boon for traffickers. The stops also happen beyond the border, including in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. The Center Square reported earlier this month that the Mesa Police Department confiscated roughly 750,000 blue fentanyl pills worth about $1 million that were packed into a gold Cadillac.
