Federal Agents Seize $1 Million in Drugs at Texas Border Bridge

Two Office of Field Operations Officers man the mobile x-ray unit to scan fruit and vegeta
File Photo: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have seized more than $1 million worth of drugs in the past week at the Texas/Mexico border bridge in Del Rio, Texas.

In one case alone, officers stopped a SUV crossing the bridge from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico. The 19-year-old woman driving the 2000 Mercury Mountaineer was from San Angelo, Texas.

During a secondary inspection, CBP officers discovered 11 packages of what they believed to be narcotics hidden in the battery, according to a CBP statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. The packages were hidden in the battery, the statement revealed.

The CBP officers removed 8.3 pounds of methamphetamine, and 2.8 pounds of heroin from the vehicle. The estimated street value of the seized drugs was $1,072,652 worth of suspected narcotics.

“Keeping illicit drugs from entering our communities is one of our key missions,” Port Director Alberto D. Perez, Del Rio Port of Entry said in a prepared statement. “I commend our frontline CBP officers on this interception of hard narcotics.”

The woman was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for prosecution in the federal courts.

The seizure comes at a time where Border Patrol agents are also seeing a marked increase in the numbers of illegal crossings of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) and incomplete family units (IFU) in the Del Rio Sector.

The Del Rio Sector has seen an increase of UAC crossings of 135 percent during the first four months of FY2016, Breitbart Texas reported after the CBP released a report late on Friday afternoon, February 26. The government routinely releases these types of reports on Friday afternoons in an apparent attempt to keep down the amount of media coverage of reports that might not be favorable to their message.

The numbers of UACs crossing illegally rose from 414 to 972 during the first four months of this fiscal year.

IFU crossings during the same period were up by 249 percent. The report shows the number went from 375 families to 1,310.

Drug cartels have learned that if they flood an area with UACs and IFUs, Border Patrol and CBP resources become tied up with processing these people. This makes fewer resources available along the border to stop drug apprehensions.

At the same time the numbers of UACs and IFUs who are illegally crossing the border are increasing significantly, the CBP reports “significant increases in hard narcotics” were being seized.

CBP officers from Brownsville to Del Rio reported a near 50 percent increase in narcotics seizures, a CBP statement released on Tuesday revealed.

“Our frontline CBP officers have pulled out all the stops, garnering a near 50 percent increase in total narcotics seized in FY 2015 all the while processing lawful trade and travel at South Texas ports of entry and treating travelers with dignity, professionalism and respect,” Director, Field Operations David P. Higgerson, Laredo Field Office said in the prepared statement.

More than $172 million worth of narcotics were seized at eight ports of entry in the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, and Del Rio sectors during FY2015. These seizures represent an increase of 49 percent over the previous fiscal year. Nearly 165,000 pounds of narcotics were seized.

The seizures include 152,891 pounds of marijuana (a 54 percent increase), 5,519 pounds of cocaine, 5,005 pounds of methamphetamine (a 36 percent increase), and 1,003 pounds of heroin (a 31 percent increase). Officers also seized $5.9 million in undeclared U.S. currency, 32 firearms, and 7,372 rounds of ammunition.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.

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