Tucson Standard

Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted a smuggling attempt on January 27 at the Area Port of Douglas in Arizona. The attempt involved a U.S. citizen and a female Mexican national as they tried to enter the U.S., according to a CBP news release dated January 29.

According to the release, at 9:20 p.m. on January 27, a 56-year-old male U.S. citizen drove a 1997 Dodge Stratus to the port to enter the U.S. from Mexico. During the primary inspection, the driver appeared unfamiliar with the vehicle, prompting a canine enforcement officer trained for narcotics detection and concealed human detection to alert to the trunk of the vehicle. When CBP officers conducted a secondary inspection, they noticed an unusual lift to the trunk and opened it. Upon lifting the carpet, they discovered a 29-year-old Mexican citizen hidden in the spare tire compartment. The individual was arrested for allegedly violating immigration law, while the driver was detained and processed. The vehicle was seized.

The Tucson sector covers much of Arizona from the New Mexico border to Yuma County’s border and spans approximately 262 miles. It is staffed by around 3,700 agents across nine stations, including those in Why, Casa Grande, Douglas, Bisbee, Nogales, Sonoita, Tucson, Three Points, and Wilcox, Arizona.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security responsible for safeguarding the nation’s borders and preventing illegal entry of people and contraband. Established in 1924, CBP operates in 328 ports of entry and protects 7,000 miles of land borders and 95,000 miles of maritime borders.