see also: in February 2009:   CBP Officers in Niagara Falls Arrest Fugitive Wanted on Drug Charges   CBP Discovers Illegal Aliens Hidden in Vehicle's Water Tank, Speaker Box   Border Patrol Nets 68 Pounds of Cocaine in Latest Seizure   CBP Officers Seize More than $665,000 in Cocaine at Brownsville Port of Entry   CBP Commissioner W. Ralph Basham Retires   El Paso Area CBP Officers Apprehend Louisiana Suspect Wanted for Attempted Murder and 39 Other Fugitives   Trusted Traveler Participant in New York Arrested with Child Pornography ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Nogales, Ariz. – Smugglers kept Customs and Border Protection officers at the Nogales, Ariz. port of entry on their toes Tuesday. In less than 24 hours, officers seized more than $300,000 worth of narcotics and prevented the smuggling of a loaded hand gun.

Just before noon, officers designated a vehicle for examination because occupants of the car did not have proper documentation to enter the country. While CBP officers were attempting to verify the identity and citizenship of the travelers, other officers were examining the car. During the examination, officers discovered a loaded handgun hidden under the backseat. As a result of this discovery, the gun was seized and both occupants were place under arrest and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further processing.

Just after 1 p.m., officers assigned to the Nogales rail team targeted a suspicious railcar for further examination. Prior to entering the railcar, two narcotics detection dogs altered to the presences of a narcotic odor. With the assistances of the narcotics detection dogs, officers were able to discover a hidden compartment that had been built into the railcar. Officers then removed 15 packages that contained 84 pounds of marijuana. As a result of this discovery, CBP officers seized $50,000 worth of marijuana and the railcar.

As the day was coming to a close, an officer referred a car for further examination based on inconsistencies discovered within the vehicle. During the inspection, a narcotics detection dog was utilized and confirmed that the odor of narcotics was coming from the car. Through the combined effort of the officer’s observation skills and the powerful nose of the narcotics detection dog, the officers were able to find the hidden compartment in the car. After opening the access panel to the compartment, officers found 10 packages containing almost 14 pounds of methamphetamine. The driver was arrested and CBP seized the $250,000 worth of methamphetamine and the vehicle.

These three seizures demonstrate the variety of environments and contraband that the men and women stationed at the Port of Nogales deal with daily.

While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.

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