see also: in May 2007 News Releases:   Agriculture Inspection, User Fee Requirements Begin June 1 for Commercial Trucks, Railroad Cars Entering U.S. From Canada   Customs and Border Protection starts 2007 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Cycle   New Mexico Border Patrol Seizes Nearly $1.5 Million in Marijuana   Suspected Child Molester, FBI Top 10 Fugitive Turned Over to Buffalo Customs and Border Protection   Jayson P. Ahern Announced as Next CBP Deputy Commissioner   CBP Border Patrol Continues Recruiting With Help of Car #28   Electronic Manifest Filing Now Mandatory in Michigan and New York ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Tucson, Ariz – Three significant attempts at smuggling illicit drugs into the U.S. were stopped and nearly three tons of marijuana were kept off the streets of our cities by U.S. Customs and Border Protection o fficers at the Nogales and Lukeville ports of entry Tuesday afternoon.

The seizures began shortly after noon at the Lukeville port of entry when CBP officers screening visitors and returning U.S. residents for terrorism connections, contraband, immigration violations, prohibited agricultural items, and trade violations encountered a 58-year-old US citizen from Phoenix who was driving a 1999 Ford F350 pulling a 5th-wheel trailer in from Mexico. Officers questioned the man about the vehicle and trailer and became suspicious of his answers. The officers then performed a thorough inspection of the vehicle and trailer and discovered a compartment built into the trailer floor that contained 1,247 lbs of marijuana. The driver was immediately arrested and the marijuana, truck and trailer were seized.

At around 2 p.m. Tuesday , CBP officers screening commercial vehicles entering the country for terrorism connections, components of WMD, and contraband at the Nogales port of entry commercial facility chose a 2002 International tractor with a refrigerated trailer filled with squash for further inspection. The vehicle was sent into the commercial import compound for the inspection and, following an alert by a CBP narcotics detector dog, was scanned utilizing a mobile truck X -ray. The X -ray images showed anomalies so the contents of the trailer were removed, revealing 175 bales of marijuana, weighing 3,864 pounds.

A short time later, at around 3:30 pm, CBP officers at the commercial facility in Nogales stopped a GMC bobtail truck with computer parts and sent it in for an inspection using the x-ray system. Once again, the officers noticed anomalies with the contents of the trailer and during an intensive inspection, discovered an additional 639 pounds of marijuana hidden inside boxes.

Estimated street value of the marijuana is in excess of $9 million.

So far this fiscal year, CBP Officers at the Arizona ports of entry have stopped 354 attempts to smuggle marijuana into the country, seizing 47,121 pounds of the illicit drug. During the same time last fiscal year, CBP officers stopped 292 attempts, seizing 29,976 pounds.

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.