CBP Seizes Stone Vases Filled with "Grass"

$660,000 in Marijuana Hidden Inside NOGALES, Ariz - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers at the Mariposa Commercial Facility stopped an attempt to smuggle more than 200 pounds of marijuana hidden inside stone vases in a tractor-trailer Friday afternoon, March 31. CBP officers screening incoming shipments noticed discrepancies with a shipment of stone vases and decided to inspect the truck and contents. Using the Vehicle and Container Inspection System (VACIS), a sophisticated system that allows the officers to view the structure and contents of a vehicle without requiring a complete unloading, officers noticed something odd about the shipment. The officers then decided to physically inspect each of the vases and, during the inspection, discovered cylinders of marijuana hidden inside the vases, which had been formed around the marijuana. As a result of the inspection, the officers discovered 20 packages, weighing almost 206 pounds. The street value of the narcotics is estimated at $660,000. The driver, a 32-year-old man from Nogales, Sonora was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Later in the evening on Friday, CBP officers working at the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales arrested a 27-year-old man from Hermosillo after discovering 55 pounds of marijuana hidden in the rocker panels of 1990 Mazda MPV. On Sunday afternoon (April 2), CBP officers at the Dennis DeConcini port of entry in Nogales arrested a 17-year-old girl from Nogales, Sonora when they discovered 80 pounds of marijuana hidden in the backseat and doors of a 995 Dodge Neon she was driving into the United States. On Sunday evening, CBP officers at the same port of entry arrested a 50-year-old man from Arleta, California after finding 85 pounds of marijuana hidden in the gas tank of a 1997 Ford F-250. Total estimated street value of the marijuana seized at the Nogales port of entry this weekend exceeds $1.3 million. So far this fiscal year, CBP officers at the Nogales port of entry have stopped attempts to smuggle more than 10,000 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of more than $32.5 million. The Office of Field Operations is responsible for operations at the ports of entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers primary mission is anti-terrorism; they screen all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the United States. Their mission also includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration law, and protecting the nations food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.