Nogales CBP Officers Find Cocaine in Wheelchair

Nogales, Ariz. — A 43-year-old male Mexican national was arrested Sunday for attempting to smuggle approximately 7.2 pounds of cocaine into the United States. The cocaine was stuffed in the seat cushion of his wheelchair.

Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the Dennis DeConcini Port referred the man for a secondary inspection of his wheelchair after noticing a peculiarity to the seat cushion. During the secondary inspection, CBP officers located five packages of cocaine valued at more than $65,500.

The drugs were processed for seizure. The subject was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Individuals arrested may be charged by complaint, the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity, which raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.