Tucson man, 2 Mexicans accused of smuggling nearly $1.2M in drugs in separate incidents

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Tucson man and two Mexicans recently who were accused in separate incidents of smuggling 264 pounds of cocaine and marijuana worth nearly $1.2 million at the Port of Nogales.

On Saturday, the officers stopped Marco Antonio Valenzuela, 49, of Sinaloa, Mexico, at the Mariposa crossing to inspect his tractor trailer containing produce. A narcotics-detection dog alerted officers that there was more than 73 pounds of cocaine worth in excess of $765,000, CBP officials said in a statement on Monday.

In a separate incident on Saturday, officers stopped Amparo Margarita Corella-Rascon, 31, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, to inspect her Toyota SUV. A narcotics dog alerted officers to nearly 159 pounds of marijuana worth more than $79,000, CBP said.

The day before, Jesus Abiram Orduno, 23, of Tucson was flagged for a secondary inspection of his Ford SUV after a narcotics-detection dog alerted officers to the vehicle. Officers found nearly 32 pounds of cocaine worth in excess of $331,000 in the SUV’s rear bumper, CBP said.

All three were turned over to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the drugs and vehicles were confiscated.