By Roberto Bustamante
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents conducting border watch over operations at the port of Nogales, Arizona, seized an RPG grenade launcher tube, weapons and spare parts to a US citizen who was trying to leave the country.
According to a news release, on April 19, agents at the DeConcini border crossing in Nogales referred a 41-year-old U.S. citizen, who was driving a 2016 Lexus IS 200t, for additional inspection as she attempted to enter Mexico through the crossing. The woman was accompanied by three minors. The primary inspection officer referred the vehicle for a second inspection.
A non-intrusive inspection revealed an anomaly in the rear seat area. After emptying the vehicle, the officers discovered a hole under the back seat that contained a rocket-propelled grenade launcher tube, four rifles, an Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK) pistol, 16 AK rifles, 24 magazines, 16 stocks, 20 grips and various weapon parts.
Our CBP Officers found all of these weapons (along side an RPG!) that were being smuggled into Mexico.
An aggregate of inspection experience and technology warned these weapons from falling into the arms of the cartels.
Be taught extra: https://t.co/ImfnEwAmo5 pic.twitter.com/Pa0rswB7R4
— CBP (@CBP) April 22, 2026
Officers confiscated the weapons and vehicle. The driver was arrested and is accused of smuggling goods from the United States. The three minors were handed over to the custody of an acquainted.
“Under the leadership of the president Donald J. Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, our CBP agents used an effective combination of inspection expertise and technology to find these weapons and prevent them from falling into the hands of the cartels,” said CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner Ron Vitiello.
“CBP prevented these dangerous weapons from wreaking havoc on the Mexican population,” the official added.
For his part, the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, Timothy Courchaine, commented: “President Trump rightly designated drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and this case is one of many that demonstrate his violent intention to cling to power.”
Keep reading:
– A woman wanted by the US for fentanyl and arms trafficking is captured in Sonora.
– An abandoned vehicle with more than 50 weapons is discovered in Tijuana.
