A Customs officer in Nogales, Ariz., said a woman crossing the border on foot from Mexico had packages of heroin strapped to her backside. Photo courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

May 5 (UPI) -- Customs officials in Arizona said a woman attempting to cross the border from Mexico disguised $45,000 worth of heroin as her buttocks.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the 47-year-old woman, a U.S. citizen from Arizona, was referred for further inspection Tuesday when she attempted to cross the border from Mexico to Nogales in a pedestrian lane.


The woman was searched and investigators discovered she had nearly 3 pounds of heroin, worth more than $45,000, strapped to her backside inside her pants.

The woman and the seized drugs were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.