U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 86 pounds of methamphetamine estimated to be worth more than $1.7 million during two separate vehicles inspections. The seizures occurred on Wednesday at two different ports of entry in Laredo, Texas. The alleged seizures resulted in the arrests of two Mexican nationals on drug smuggling charges.
In the first incident, CBP officers assigned to the Office of Field Operations (OFO) contacted a male driver in a 2010 Ford Focus at the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. Officers referred the driver to a secondary examination station where a K-9 drug detection officer detected the possible presence of drugs, according to information obtained from CBP officials. The officers also carried out a non-intrusive inspection. After the K-9 alerted to an odor it has been trained to detect, CBP officers discovered three packages containing a total of 63 pounds of alleged methamphetamine within the vehicle. Officers arrested the driver and identified him as a 21-year-old male and Mexican citizen who resides in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
During the second seizure, OFO officers contacted a female driver in a 2008 Chevrolet Captiva at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in Laredo. Officers referred the driver to a secondary examination station and employed a K-9 drug detection officer. The officers also utilized a non-intrusive inspection, officials stated. After the K-9 alerted to an odor it has been trained to detect, CBP officers discovered a total of 19 packages of methamphetamine concealed within the vehicle weighing a total of 23 pounds. Officers arrested the driver and identified her as a 42-year-old Mexican citizen who resides in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
Officers arrested both drivers and turned the cases over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation. Officials estimated the total estimated street value of both seizures totaling 86 pounds to be approximately $1,714,296.
“CBP has numerous layers of enforcement and our officers will go above and beyond to keep these illicit drugs from entering our country and affecting our community,” Port Director Albert Flores, Laredo Port of Entry said in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection media release.
Breitbart Texas reported on a seizure last week where U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized a half a ton of methamphetamine estimated to be worth more than $14 million dollars concealed within a commercial shipment of fresh produce at the Pharr International Bridge.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.