Border Patrol: Agents seize nearly $2m worth of narcotics near border
NEAR RIO RICO, Ariz. - Officials with the United States Border Patrol say their agents have seized dozens of packages of cocaine, meth, and heroin on August 15 near the U.S. - Mexico Border in Arizona.
According to a statement released on August 18, the seizure happened on August 15 near Rio Rico, a town to the north of Nogales in Arizona's Santa Cruz County, where agents assigned to patrol the desert just north of the border observed several people emerge from a bush and load packages into a parked truck near Peña Blanca Lake.
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The truck later drove away, according to Border Patrol officials and the individuals returned to the desert. Minutes later, agents conducted a traffic stop on an SUV in the area, and found 57 packages of suspected meth, cocaine and heroin concealed inside the vehicle. The packages were later confirmed to be narcotics by agents in Nogales.
(Photo Courtesy: United States Border Patrol)
"The drugs totaled nearly $1,889,600 in street value," officials wrote.
The driver and passenger of the vehicle were identified by the Border Patrol as 18-year-olds from Rio Rico, but officials did not release their names. Both were arrested and eventually turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Agents were unable to locate the individuals that emerged from the brush," read a portion of the statement.
This story was reported on from Phoenix.
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