Overview
- CBP officers at the DeConcini crossing in Nogales, Arizona, found a hidden compartment on April 19 that held an RPG launcher tube, four rifles, an AK‑style pistol, 16 AK rifles, 24 magazines, 16 stocks, 20 grips and other parts.
- The driver, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested on a federal contraband charge and faces a potential sentence of up to 10 years.
- Three minors traveling in the car were released to a relative under CBP protocols after agents took the woman into custody.
- Officials said non-intrusive inspection technology flagged an anomaly under the rear seat of the 2016 Lexus IS 200t, leading officers to the concealed cache, which was seized with the vehicle as evidence.
- CBP leaders and Arizona federal prosecutors said the haul shows how U.S. weapons can flow to Mexican criminal groups, and the seizure is drawing attention as Mexico presses the U.S. over alleged CIA activity and heated political rhetoric.