U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Nogales in Arizona encountered an unusual concealment method on Wednesday afternoon.
CBP officers working the Deconcini pedestrian crossing flagged a wheelchair-bound man for further inspection. After a CBP narcotics detection canine gave a positive alert, the wheelchair was searched and eight pounds of methamphetamine were discovered inside. The 56-year-old man also had a package of methamphetamine inside his body.
The eight pounds of methamphetamine discovered in the wheelchair were contained in three packages that had been stitched into the seat and backrest of the man's wheelchair. The estimated street value of the methamphetamine was approximately $8,000. The drugs were seized, the man arrested and turned over to ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, according to a CBP press release.
On a typical day in 2019, CBP disrupted or seized an average of 3,707 pounds of narcotics, $207,356 in undeclared or illicit currency, and $4.3 million in products violating intellectual property rights.
