CBP officers seize almost $600k in cocaine

A Yuma woman has been arrested at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., for attempting to smuggle $598,000 worth of cocaine into the country.

Acting San Luis Port Director Robert Schroeder praised his fellow CBP officers for the prevention of a dangerous narcotic from reaching U.S. communities.

“The outstanding work by our frontline CBP officers at the San Luis port resulted in the seizure of this load of cocaine at the border,” he said. “I applaud our officers for their vigilance and for the arrest of this would-be smuggler.”

Customs and Border Protection officers referred 30-year-old Patricia Contreras' Honda SUV to the secondary inspection area Friday morning for a more thorough inspection of her vehicle. After a narcotics detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs, officers found 25 packages of cocaine weighing nearly 66 pounds.

The drugs and vehicle were seized and Contreras was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter at @YSJamesGilbert.