Three People Arrested for Smuggling Drugs in a Car Battery
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested three people connected to separate attempts to smuggle cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana through the Port of Nogales. CBP officers located and seized more than five pounds of cocaine from the shell of a vehicle battery.
Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing spotted a Honda sedan, driven by Jessica Gastelum-Estrada, 24, a U.S. citizen living in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection and located more than five pounds of cocaine in the vehicle’s battery. The cocaine is valued at nearly $54,000.
A short time later, officers at the Mariposa crossing referred Martin Borquez-Burrola, 30, of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of his Ford SUV. After a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs within the flooring, officers removed packages of marijuana weighing nearly 33 pounds and valued at $16,000.
Officers also removed five packages of methamphetamine weighing more than six pounds and worth nearly $19,000.
With the help of a CBP narcotics detection canine, officers at the Mariposa crossing seized packages of marijuana and meth that was concealed within the flooring of a smuggling vehicle.
Monday night, officers at the Mariposa crossing selected a Ford SUV, driven by Melesio Rivera, 64, of Tucson for further inspection. After a narcotics canine alerted to the presence of drugs within the dashboard, officers removed 14 packages of cocaine weighing nearly 38 pounds and valued at close to $394,000.
Officers processed the vehicles and drugs for seizure, and referred all three subjects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
