see also: in October 2002:   Alleged Colombian Heroin Distributor Arrested in Chicago; Among 25 Charged in Operation Smackdown Led by Customs Agents   U.S. Customs Publishes Final Regulations to Require Advance Shipping Information   Customs Agent is Presented the Presidential Council on Integrity and Efficiency Award   U.S. Customs Inspectors Seize $7.6 Million in Cocaine at Hidalgo/Pharr in Five Days   More Than 300 Registered for Customs Trade Symposium 2002   Wang Pleads Guilty to Bribery, Smuggling in Export Scheme Involving Chinese Textiles   China Joins the U.S. in Container Security Initiative ...more

contacts for this news release

NOGALES, AZ - U.S. Customs Service inspectors working at the Mariposa international crossing at the Nogales port of entry seized 13.63 pounds of methamphetamine and made four arrests Monday afternoon. All four people taken into custody are related.

The seizure was made just before 2:00 p.m. when a 1994 Oldsmobile Achieva arrived at the port of entry from Mexico. A Customs inspector performing the primary inspection noticed that the male driver was tense and nervous during routine questioning. The Customs inspector then asked a female occupant to exit the vehicle. When the female stepped from the car, the inspector observed something unusual in her physical appearance. The vehicle was referred to the secondary inspection area. Customs inspectors then asked the male driver and three female passengers to exit the vehicle. Customs inspectors noticed an unexplained bulge around the abdomen of one of the women. A more thorough inspection revealed that all the women were wearing girdles holding methamphetamine-filled packages against their bodies.

U.S. Customs Service special agents arrived at the port of entry and arrested the four. The driver of the vehicle is 52-year-old Arturo Gil Morales of Tucson. He is facing a federal charge of aiding and abetting. Customs special agents also arrested the driver’s daughter, 32-year-old Claudia Ledesma of Tucson. She was carrying four packages of methamphetamine weighing 5.08 pounds. A second daughter, 30-year-old Norma Lydia Gil of Tucson, was also arrested. She was transporting three packages of methamphetamine weighing 3.96 pounds. The fourth person arrested, 22-year-old Elizabeth Gil of Nogales, Sonora, is the driver's niece. She was carrying four packages weighing 4.59 pounds. The three women are facing possession with intent to distribute charges. All four are expected to make their initial appearance in federal court in Tucson today. Additional charges may be brought at a later date.

"It is rare but we have seen cases where parents and children work together in an attempt to smuggle contraband through the port of entry," said U.S. Customs Service Nogales Port Director Joe Lafata. "In terms of drug smuggling, there aren't too many things that surprise us anymore."

The seizure marks the fourth time this month that U.S. Customs Service inspectors at the Nogales port of entry have seized methamphetamine. Customs inspectors made a 34.9-pound seizure on October 2, a 40.9-pound seizure on October 18, and a 10.2-pound seizure on October 19. The combined weight of the four October seizures is 99.6 pounds. In fiscal year 2002, Customs officers in Nogales made 21 methamphetamine seizures totaling 262 pounds while in fiscal year 2001 they seized 20 pounds of methamphetamine in nine seizures.