see also: in August 2007 News Releases:   Border Patrol Agents Seize Drugs at California Checkpoint   Palm Beach, Fla. Welcomes New Tool in Fighting Terror Weapons   Drug Seizure Activity at Border Ports Remains Brisk; El Paso CBP Nabs More Than 2 Tons of Pot   Yuma Border Agents Help Local Police Track 3 Fleeing Burglary Scene   CBP Officers at Laredo, Texas Entry Seize Almost $6 Million in Drugs in Two Seizures   Suspected Smuggling Lookouts Captured in Desert   1st Director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Northwest Retires ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Yuma, Ariz. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma Sector apprehended a female United States Citizen who was attempting to smuggle marijuana through a traffic checkpoint Monday.

At approximately 8:45 a.m., agents conducting operations at the Border Patrol traffic checkpoint located about 25 miles north of Yuma on Highway 95 encountered a woman driving a minivan with an infant child as a passenger. During routine questioning the woman informed the agents that she is a U.S. citizen, but her behavior and discrepancies in her story, aroused suspicion. The agents requested consent to search the vehicle, and during a non-intrusive inspection, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the possible presence of narcotics. A thorough search of the vehicle revealed multiple bundles of marijuana, weighing 96 pounds, concealed in the vehicle’s body panels.

The narcotics, worth an estimated $77,000, were turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration officials, who also briefly detained the woman and child. The vehicle was seized by the Border Patrol.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 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.