SW Arizona News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents from the Wellton Station seized 75 pounds of methamphetamine on December 17. This announcement was made in a post by the Yuma Sector Chief on December 19 on X, a social media platform.

According to the Yuma Sector Chief's post, "Wellton Station agents intercepted 75 pounds of methamphetamine during a vehicle stop on Interstate 8 east of Yuma Tuesday afternoon. Agents stopped a Nissan sedan and subsequently discovered 74 bundles of meth concealed inside."

The Wellton Station, established on February 1, 1955, initially had two patrol inspectors working in the Wellton and Tacna areas. Between April 1964 and August 1967, Yuma Sector agents provided coverage. Today, the station’s agents are responsible for overseeing 65 miles of international border with Mexico and operating a remote forward operating base called "Camp Grip" in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, as said on the CBP website dedicated to the Wellton Station.

Screenshot of Yuma Sector Chief Dec. 19 post on X | X

The Yuma sector covers an extensive area as described on CBP's webpage. It spans 181,670 square miles of desert between California and Arizona and includes 126 miles of the U.S. border stretching from the Imperial Sand Dunes to the Yuma-Pima County Line. Over the last two decades, this sector has doubled in size since its establishment in 2004. The sector encompasses three border stations: Blythe in California and two others in Arizona - Yuma and Wellton.

The U.S. Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with safeguarding national borders against illegal entry of people and contraband. Since its inception in 1924, it has been operating across 328 ports of entry while protecting approximately 7,000 miles of land borders and an extensive 95,000 miles of maritime borders.