CBP Officers at Port of Douglas, Seize More Than $157,000 in Marijuana

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TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Mexican national yesterday in connection with a failed attempt to smuggle more than 300 pounds of marijuana through the Raul Hector Castro Port of Douglas.

Officers arrested a 23-year-old man, driving a Chevrolet SUV, from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, on Dec. 15 after a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted officers to marijuana scattered throughout the vehicle.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and turned the subject over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.

-CBP-

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP’s mission includes keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. Follow us on Twitter @CBPArizona.

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