Nogales, Arizona - Nogales Station Border Patrol agents arrested three U.S. citizens and three foreign nationals Thursday in two separate foiled attempts to smuggle methamphetamine through the Interstate 19 Immigration Checkpoint.
In the first incident, agents working the primary inspection lane referred two Arizona women in a Chevrolet "Cobalt" for further inspection. When agents opened the vehicle trunk, they discovered two illegal males from Mexico, aged 30 and 38. An additional search of a female passenger revealed that she was concealing more than 300 grams of methamphetamine on her body.
Agents seized the vehicle and arrested the two men for immigration violations. Two women were identified as a 28-year-old from Kaibeto, and a 36-year-old woman from Tuba City. They were arrested on charges of human-smuggling, while the passenger faces additional charges for drug smuggling.
A few hours later, a 32-year-old Tucson man driving a Toyota sedan was referred for a secondary inspection after a Border Patrol canine alerted to the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle’s trunk revealed two male Mexican nationals.
Agents arrested the driver on federal human-smuggling charges. The two illegal aliens, aged 29 and 33, will be processed for immigration violations.
Federal law allows agents 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.