While Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is considered much safer than it was 20 years ago, drug smugglers still try to sneak through it/NPS

While Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument officials believe the monument that hugs the U.S.-Mexico border is much safer than it was a decade or two ago, there are still those trying to smuggle drugs into the country through the park. In the past year rangers have confiscated more than 600 pounds of marijuana in the monument.

In recent weeks, prosecution efforts from the United States Attorney’s Office in Tucson, Arizona, have resulted in guilty pleas and defendants being sentenced to federal prison terms for the following incidents:

* February 14, 2017: Park Rangers conducting a foot-based patrol arrested one individual and seized four large backpacks containing 127 pounds of marijuana near North Puerto Blanco Drive.

* February 18, 2017: Park Rangers conducting traffic enforcement operations disrupted a vehicle being loaded with 194 pounds of marijuana on Arizona State Route 85, near milepost 77. Two individuals were arrested and charged.

* January 21, 2018: Park Rangers conducting a foot-based patrol near Pozo Nuevo Road arrested four individuals and seized six contraband backpacks containing 284 pounds of marijuana.

These cases were initiated and investigated by Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument rangers and ISB Special Agents. The total involved contraband seized is estimated to be worth in excess of $480,000. 

Assistance from the United States Border Patrol, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department were crucial to the successful outcome of these cases.