DOUGLAS, Ariz. — Fourteen people were arrested by border patrol Wednesday in a series of smuggling events in Douglas.
According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, multiple traffic stops led to the arrests:
The first vehicle stop was made around 1 p.m. During the stop, a canine was alerted to an odor coming from the vehicle.
Troopers then found 3.5 grams of heroin, nearly 140 fentanyl pills, and trace amounts of meth. DPS troopers arrested the Arizona couple in the vehicle and seized the drugs, according to CBP.
Hours later, a vehicle stop along state Route 80 led to the arrest of an 18-year-old Arizona man who was smuggling five Mexican nationals, all illegally present in the United States.
Agents arrested all six of the vehicle’s occupants.
An hour later, another vehicle stop led to agents finding four Mexican national women who were found to be illegally present in the country, CBP said.
Agents arrested the women, the Arizona driver, and front-seat passenger.
The nine Mexican nationals encountered in these human smuggling incidents were expelled from the United States. The three U.S. citizen smugglers were booked and subsequently released. Charge are pending, according to CBP.
