BORDER BUSTS - How they try to get drugs across th

BORDER BUSTS - How they try to get drugs across the Arizona border.

There are 129 arrests from July through August! Here are a few examples.

Juan Ramon Luna, 39, of Wellton, is accused of trying to smuggle more than 11 pounds of meth through the Port of San Luis.

On Aug. 2, the Chevrolet sedan Luna was driving was picked for inspection and  and a drug dog alerted to the presence of drugs, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection release says.

Border officers say they found 11 packages of methamphetamine valued at $177,320 from the vehicle’s rocker panels.

A Mexican man was was arrested Aug. 7, at the Port of Nogales after border officers say he tried to smuggle nearly 65 pounds of cocaine into Arizona.

The Chevrolet sedan being driven by Gaston Delacruz Arriaga-Barrigan, 61, of Hermosillo, Sonora, was picked for additional inspection as he drove across the border. A drug dog alerted to a headlight and officers uncovered 27 packages of cocaine, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Inspection.

The cocaine had an estimated street value of about $591,000.

An Arizona woman was arrested Aug. 5 at the Port of San Luis after border officers say they found her carrying nearly three pounds of methamphetamine hidden in her purse and on her body.

Adriana Palencia-Rodriguez, 44, a Mexican national living in the border community of Somerton, was chosen for additional inspection when a drug dog alerted to the Saturn SUV she was driving, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release. Officers say they found 2.75 pounds packages of meth in her purse, under each breast and in her groin area. The estimated street value was $43,000.

A Nogales, Ariz., man who was part of a program that allowed for quicker border crossings was arrested July 24, for trying to smuggle a woman into the United States in the trunk of his car, officials said.

Juan Carlos Chavez, 27, was arrested at the Nogales Port of Entry. He had "trusted-traveler" status with the Secure Electronic Network for Traveler's Rapid Inspection - or SENTRI program, according to a news release from Customs and Border Protection.

Chavez was trying to cross into the U.S. when he was sent for an additional inspection after he was unable to open his car trunk. When officers opened the trunk, they found a 34-year-old Mexican woman inside, the agency said.

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Border officers in Nogales reported several drug seizures over the weekend beginning Aug. 2.

Heriberto Balvastro-Parra, 34, a Mexican man living in Rio Rico, was arrested Friday after a drug dog alerted to the radiator of the Ford SUV he was driving, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Officers removed seven packages of cocaine with a total weight of more than 18 pounds. The drugs are valued at more than $165,000.

The next day officers referred Phoenix resident Benny Sarmiento, 51, for additional inspection of his Dodge van. With the help of a drug dog, officers found nearly 40 pounds of cocaine in the gas tank. The drugs are valued at more than $362,000.

And on Sunday officers arrested Alexis Ivonne Aguilar, 21, of Rio Rico, after a drug dog alerted officers to more than four pounds of heroin inside Aguilar’s suitcase. The drugs are valued at nearly $59,000.

A man and woman were apprehended at an Arizona border crossing July 23, with about 10 pounds of methamphetamine taped to their bodies, officials say.

Melissa Lopez Delgado, 22, and Briayan Efrain B. Ramirez-Garcia, 20, both of Somerton, were crossing the border at San Luis in a Ford sedan when officers stopped them for an additional inspection, a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection says.

Delgado had packages of meth wrapped around her thighs, while Ramirez had packages wrapped around his waist, thighs and calves, the agency said.

The methamphetamine had an estimated street value of $157,000.

A California woman was arrested July 20, for trying to smuggle $100,000 in cash into Mexico in a laundry detergent box, officials said.

Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dennis DeConcini Port in Nogales were conducting outbound inspections and selected a Honda sedan, driven by Blanca Gabriela Medina, 29, of El Monte, Calif., for an additional inspection.

Officers searched the vehicle and found 10 packages of cash hidden in a box of Gain detergent, the agency said in a news release.

The vehicle and cash were processed for seizure. Medina was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

From July 14 to July 19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Douglas seized more than 814 pounds of marijuana worth nearly $394,000 in separate incidents, officials said.

In two seizures July 17, 370 pounds of pot was seized. Border officers first referred a 23-year-old woman — a U.S. citizen living in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico — for a secondary inspection of her Chevrolet SUV. During the search officers noticed anomalies its tires and gas tank, finding more than 292 pounds of marijuana, worth approximately $146,000, the agency said in a news release.

A short time later, officers referred a 22-year-old Mexican man for additional inspection of his Ford pickup truck. A drug dog alerted to the vehicle and officers found 45 packages of marijuana from the front fenders, doors, gas tank and tailgate. The drugs, weighing nearly 78 pounds, had an estimated value of nearly $39,000.

Felipe De Jesus Gomez, 22, a U.S. citizen living in San Luis, Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, was arrested July 12 after border officers say they found a quarter-pound of heroin strapped to his thighs.

Gomez was walking across the San Luis border crossing when a drug dog alerted officers. They found found the drugs worth an estimated $24,000, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The drugs were seized and Gomez was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. 

Alba L. Siqueiros-Bustamante, 45, of San Luis, Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, was arrested July 11, at the town’s border crossing after officers say she tried to smuggle more than 36 pounds of cocaine into Arizona. A drug dog alerted to the Pontiac sedan she was driving and officers found  15 packages of cocaine in the rear quarter panels. according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release.

The drugs, valued at $331,000, and vehicle were seized.



Philip Daniel Copas. a 55-year-old Arizona man was arrested July 14 at the Lukeville border crossing after officers say he tried to smuggle more than 102 pounds of marijuana across the border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers selected Copas for a secondary inspection of the Chevrolet van he was driving and officers found 63 bundles of marijuana, valued at a combined $51,000. It was hidden throughout the vehicle and in the spare tire, an agency news release says.

Two Tucson teens — an 18-year-old man and a 14-year-old Mexican boy living here — were arrested July 15 after border officers in Douglas say they pair tried to smuggle more than $114,000 worth of marijuana into Arizona.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred a Chevrolet pickup truck for an additional inspection and with the help of a drug dog found 42 packages of marijuana — about 255 pounds — in the undercarriage of the truck.



A Mexican man was arrested July 15 after border officers at the San Luis crossing said he tried to smuggle more than 12 pounds of methamphetamine into Arizona.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred Victor Alfonso Payan-Beltran, 29, of San Luis, Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, for inspection of his Nissan sedan. A drug dog alerted to the vehicle and officers found 12 packages of meth valued at more than $192,000 hidden in the bumper area of the car, according to a news release from the agency.

Armando Gonzalez Barajas, of Rio Rico, was arrested July 15 at the Port of Nogales after border officers say he tried to smuggle nearly 27 pounds of cocaine into Arizona.

Officers sent Barajas, 33, for an additional inspection of his Chrysler sedan, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection release. After a drug dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle’s dashboard, officers removed 10 packages of cocaine worth more than $243,000.




A traffic stop July 16, 2013, by a Pinal County sheriff’s officer resulted in two arrests and the seizure of more about 220 pounds of marijuana with a street value of more than $165,000. Felipe Gonzalez-Tempura, 19, (left) and Daniel Jupa-Fino, 21, (right) both of Mexico, were booked into the Pinal County jail for possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and transportation of marijuana. Daniel has already been deported 11 times in the last three years for illegal entry into the United States. Gonzales-Tempura was injured when he climbed over a barbed wire fence as he tried to flee from officers.



Victor Manuel Navarro, of Somerton, was arrested July 10 for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 38 pounds of methamphetamine into southern Arizona.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of San Luis say Navarro, 37, was referred for an inspection of his pickup truck.

A narcotics detection dog assisted the officers in locating a non-factory compartment inside the fuel tank, containing 30 packages of methamphetamine. Authorities say the meth was valued at more than $595,000.

A Phoenix woman is facing drug charges after border officers in Nogales say they found three pounds of cocaine taped to her butt.

Dora Anna Gutierrez, 39, was arrested at the Morley pedestrian gate July 9, after a drug dog alerted to the presence of drugs on her body,  a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection says.

The three pounds of cocaine was valued at just over $24,000.

In a separate incident that day, Vanessa Elizabeth Palacios-Cortez, 34, of Nogales, Son., was arrested after officers say they found 14 packages of methamphetamine inside the front seats of a Buick sedan she was driving.

The methamphetamine weighed nearly 24 pounds and had  an estimated value of nearly $365,000, the agency said in the release.

Four people were arrested in separate drug-related incidents Friday at the Nogales border crossing.

A 23-year-old Nogales, Ariz., man was arrested on July 5, after an inspection of his Ford SUV revealed 10 packages of cocaine, weighing nearly 26 pounds hidden in the back seats. The marijuana was valued at $233,000.

Later that day a 22-year-old Mexican woman was arrested after border officers say they found nearly 13 pounds of heroin under the back seats of her vehicle. The heroin was valued at $174,000.

Also that day, border officers say they found about 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a 16-year-old boy’s groin area as the teen walked into Arizona through the Morley gate entrance. The meth was valued at $23,000.

In the fourth incident that day, a a 28-year-old Mexican woman was arrested after border officers say they found nearly five pounds of methamphetamine in a cooler under the front passenger seat of the Ford sedan she was driving. The methamphetamine was valued at more than $75,000.

A doctor surgically removed a 1-pound package of methamphetamine from a Yuma woman's pelvic area after border officials she tried to smuggle the drugs into Arizona from Mexico. Claudia Ibarra, 31, was taken into custody June 25, after she was pulled aside for questioning at the San Luis port of entry as she tried to walk into Arizona.

Ibarra, a U.S. citizen, was searched and then taken to a nearby medical facility, where the doctor found and removed the drug package. The methamphetamine had been wrapped in black tape and a condom and inserted into Ibarra's body.

A Rio Rico man was arrested June 26 on suspicion of trying to smuggle $50,000 into Mexico through the Nogales port hidden inside a McDonald's take-out bag.
Rene Becerra-Portillo Jr., 22, was stopped for further questioning, and federal agents found the unreported currency in a bag he was carrying, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release. Becerra-Portillo was dressed in a fast-food restaurant uniform.

A Mexican man is in custody for allegedly trying to smuggle nearly $236,000 in undeclared cash out of southern Arizona, federal authorities say.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Douglas port were conducting outbound inspections June 19, when they referred Abelardo Acosta-Bustamante, 44, of Agua Prieta, for further inspection of his pickup truck.

During the search, officers say they found unreported currency inside a spare tire. The vehicle and cash were processed for seizure.

Two Mexican nationals were arrested in separate weekend incidents for trying to smuggle more than $1.6 million in unreported U.S. currency into Mexico through Nogales ports of entry . On June 9, Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections at the Dennis DeConcini Port referred Cosme Barcelo-Quijada, 56, a legal permanent resident alien who resides in Yuma, for further inspection. During a search of Barcelo’s Toyota truck, a CBP dog detected currency hidden inside the dashboard and roof. The unreported cash totaled about $1.66 million. The money was seized.

On June 8, officers at the Mariposa Port of Entry referred Jose Luis Verastica-Munoz, 34, of Nogales, Sonora, for further inspection of his Toyota sedan prior to heading into Mexico. After a CBP dog alerted to the presence of hidden currency, officers searched Verastica’s person and vehicle and found unreported cash from his waistband and the vehicle’s dashboard. The vehicle and $14,000 cash were seized.

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