U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have confiscated a significant number of weapons and ammunition during outbound enforcement operations at the Area Port of Douglas, Arizona. The operation led to the arrest of a 25-year-old male U.S. citizen.
According to a CBP news release, the incident took place on January 16. Officers seized eight ammunition magazines, 26,553 rounds of ammunition, 12 AR-15 rifles, and one pistol as the suspect attempted to leave the country in a Chevy Suburban. Both the individual and the cache of weapons were handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
This incident occurred almost exactly two years after El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents seized a stash of weapons along with five U.S. citizens, a Mexican citizen in possession of a Border Crossing Card, and 14 undocumented individuals, according to another CBP news release. On January 13, 2022, agents from the Sector Intelligence Unit noticed that the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe they were tracking showed signs of human smuggling as it traveled through a subdivision in Yuma. The vehicle briefly stopped near a rail yard known for being used by illegal aliens to board commercial freight trains heading north into the country. Although agents initially lost sight of the vehicle, they managed to apprehend 13 illegal aliens near the rail yard.
In another development detailed in a CBP news release, when agents located the SUV again, the driver fled from them and they ceased pursuit. Later that evening, agents found the vehicle at an identified stash house where they observed four individuals leaving the house attempting to enter a Honda Accord. Agents identified themselves and detained these individuals to prevent them from leaving the location. Upon questioning, it was discovered that all four individuals were U.S. citizens with one being a tenant of that property.
The tenant granted permission for agents to search his property where they found another U.S. citizen, a Mexican citizen with a Border Crossing Card, and one undocumented individual. In addition, they confiscated several semi-automatic weapons including an AK-47, two semi-automatic AR-15 rifles, a 12-gauge pump action shotgun, a Glock pistol conversion kit, multiple magazines, and ammunition from within the residence.
