Nearly $1.5 Million In Hard Narcotics Seized At U.S.-Mexico Border Last Weekend
HIDALGO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized hard narcotics worth $1,469,500 at the Texas-Mexico border this past weekend. They also seized $90,000 in undeclared U.S. currency.
"These interceptions of hard narcotics, although compact in size, illustrate both the pervasiveness of the drug threat and the resolve of our officers to keep our country safe by seizing these loads," said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. "Our robust enforcement posture in the outbound arena was instrumental in the discovery of the unreported U.S. currency."
The first drug bust happened on April 24. Officers working at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge referred a Chevy Trailblazer driven by 38-year-old man, a United States citizen from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico for further inspection. They found 24 packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing 27.60 pounds and nine packages of alleged marijuana weighing 9.9 pounds. These drugs are valued at $554,000.
Later, at the same border crossing, officers referred a 56-year-old woman from Paris, Texas and the Honda Accord sedan she was driving for a secondary examination. Officers conducting the inspection discovered that the vehicle's gas tank contained alleged liquid methamphetamine and ultimately, 27.42 pounds, which are valued at $548,500 were removed from the tank.
Also, officers working outbound operations encountered a 27-year-old man, a United States citizen from Reynosa, Mexico driving a Ford Fusion attempting to drive into Mexico. They found the $90,000 unreported U.S. currency hidden within the car.
Lastly, days earlier, officers encountered a 36-year-old man from Houston driving a 2008 Volkswagen Touareg and referred him for further examination. Officers discovered 15 packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing 17.8 pounds and one package of alleged heroin weighing 123 grams. The drugs have a combined value of $367,000.
In all the narcotics seizures, canine teams assisted in the secondary inspections, which allowed the officers to discover the narcotics hidden within the vehicles.
Officers seized the narcotics, currency, all the vehicles and arrested the those involved. They were turned over to the custody of agents with Homeland Security Investigations while they continue the investigation