El Paso, Texas -- Two New Mexico residents were arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers Monday at an El Paso port of entry for allegedly smuggling 29.6 pounds of heroin.

"In the last two years area CBP officers seized a total of 44 pounds of heroin. Seizing two-thirds of that total in a single incident is an exceptionally important seizure," Ana Hinojosa, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Director of Field Operations in El Paso, said in a news release. "The loss to the smuggling organization is significant but more importantly these drugs did not reach their intended audience where they could have caused untold harm."

CBP officers arrested the driver, 18-year-old Juan Carlos Martinez of Chaparral, New Mexico and the passenger, 18-year-old Perla A. Ortiz of Anthony, New Mexico. Martinez and Ortiz are currently being detained at the El Paso County Jail facing importation of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance charges.

The CBP officers selected the pair's 1999 Mercury Cougar for a random exam and drug-sniffing dog Outlaw searched the car and alerted the officers to a possible drug find in the floor. Officers examined the floor and found hidden compartments under both front seats with 12 bundles of heroin, according to a CBP news release.