Mother Of Four Accused Of Smuggling Marijuana
A drug-sniffing dog named Sandy alerted Customs and Border Protection officers to 94 bundles of marijuana hidden in “non-factory” compartments in a 2003 Jeep Liberty driven by a mother of four on Sunday afternoon at the Bridge of the Americas, a CBP spokesman said.
Officers arrested a 28-year-old Laura Rivas of Albuquerque on suspicion of attempting to smuggle 146 pounds of marijuana. She was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents after the case was accepted for federal prosecution, and her children were turned over to Child Protective Services, according a news release issued by CBP.
“Smuggling organizations will use every imaginable concealment method to try to get narcotics through our international ports of entry,” said Hector Mancha, port director for CBP in El Paso. “To most people, this was just another woman crossing the port of entry with her children. However, to the well-trained CBP officer, it was a smuggling attempt.”
Officers made another eight marijuana seizures, one cocaine seizure and one heroin seizure during the weekend.
At the Paso Del Norte international crossing, CBP officers — with the help of a drug-sniffing dog named Bianca — discovered 34.65 pounds of cocaine vacuum-sealed packages in the gas tank of a 2007 Oldsmobile Up Lander on Saturday. The driver, a 32-year-old man from Queretaro, Mexico, told officers he had nothing to declare, but then the dog alerted officers to the drug.
Yuri Ernesto Tadeo Martinez Duran was arrested and turned over to ICE special agents, authorities said.
In addition to the drug seizures, CBP officers recorded 60 immigration violations at area ports this weekend, including 33 intended immigrants and 17 impostors, as well as taking seven people into custody who were being sought on outstanding warrants for traffic violations, fugitives from justice and a missing person.
