see also: in February 2003:   Investigators from U.S. Customs and District Attorney's Office Arrest Impersonator of Federal Agent   U.S. Ambassador Presents $843,388 Forfeiture Check to Mexico as a Result of Joint Probe Into Former Mexican Deputy Attorney General   Customs Recruitment Strategy Perpetuates Excellence   Customs Has New Number for 24-Hour Rule Conference Call   Expired Permit Leads to Drug Smuggling Charges (pdf - 24 KB.)   At the Otay Mesa Border Station Customs Seizes 10 Tons of Marijuana   Container Security Initiative Expands Beyond the Megaports, Strengthening Anti-Terror Coalition ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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NOGALES, AZ--U.S. Customs Service special agents seized 4,833 pounds of marijuana and arrested six people while conducting enforcement activity in Nogales and Tucson Wednesday. The estimated value of the marijuana is $4,833,000.

The largest seizure of the day occurred when agents discovered 3,528 pounds of marijuana hidden in a bulk shipment of spaghetti squash that entered the Nogales port of entry Mariposa cargo facility from Mexico. U.S. Customs officers at the port of entry spotted suspicious yellow packages concealed under a shipment of the yellow colored vegetable. Customs special agents monitored the truck as it left the cargo facility and proceeded to a location in Nogales. The driver parked the truck and left it unattended. A short time later, a second individual arrived and drove the truck and then parked it outside the Agencia Aduanal Mayer Customs brokerage firm in Nogales.

While Customs agents were maintaining surveillance on the squash truck, they observed individuals in the rear of the brokerage firm loading a Lineas Fronteras commercial passenger van with suspicious packages. The van left the facility and proceeded to the Rio Rico area where Customs agents stopped and searched the vehicle. The search resulted in the discovery of 537.9 pounds of marijuana. Customs special agents arrested the driver of the van, 44-year-old Rodrigo Duarte-Guitierrez of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

U.S. Customs Service special agents who had been conducting surveillance on the squash shipment approached the vehicle and discovered that a substantial load of marijuana-filled packages were concealed beneath the vegetables. After unloading the squash, they removed 186 marijuana-filled bundles weighing 3,528 pounds from the truck. The marijuana packaging had been painted yellow in an apparent attempt to have the contraband blend in with the squash.

Customs agents arrested the second driver of the squash truck, 27-year-old Pedro Nieblas Delfin of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Customs agents at the brokerage firm also arrested 32-year-old Carlos Lopez of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico and 35-year-old Julio Cesar Ramirez-Acosta of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. Lopez was present at the facility when the drug-laden squash shipment was delivered and also helped load the van. Ramirez-Acosta was present when the van was being loaded. All four men arrested in these two related enforcement actions are slated to make their initial appearance before a federal magistrate in Tucson today. They face possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy charges. The investigation continues.

In a third yet unrelated enforcement action, Customs special agents in Tucson seized 765.6 pounds of marijuana from a Tucson home. Agents had conducted an investigation and obtained a search warrant for a property located at 3131 Ironwood Hills Drive in Tucson. While executing the warrant, they discovered the marijuana hidden in a rear bedroom and in a storage shed. They also seized $146,000 that was discovered during the search. Agents arrested two men in connection with this seizure. They are 29-year-old Luis Alberto Mariscal of Tucson and 28-year-old Jose DeJesus Castillo Gonzales of Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico. Both men are scheduled to make an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in Tucson today for possession of a controlled substance. The investigation continues.