Border patrol seizes drugs disguised as tamales, brick pavers

NOGALES, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection arrested two men in separate drug smuggling attempts at the Port of Nogales Monday.

A 19-year-old Nogales man was inspected at the Morley Pedestrian Gate, where they found a bag that the man said contained food. Instead, officers discovered nearly a pound of methamphetamine disguised as tamales worth more than $3,000.

[See also: More than 1,400 pounds of marijuana found in fresh coconuts at U.S.-Mexico border]

In another smuggling attempt, officers inspected a 37-year-old man's GMC truck at the Dennis DeConinci crossing. A CBP detection K-9 alerted officers to more than 260 pounds of marijuana hidden in a shipment of brick pavers valued at more than $132,000.

The drugs and truck were seized, and both men were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.