U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in the Laredo Sector seized two loads of drugs estimated to be worth about $1.4 million in two consecutive days.
CBP officers assigned to the World Trade Center on Tuesday observed a 2012 Ford pickup truck hauling a shipment of magnets from Mexico. The officers selected the truck for a secondary inspection, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector CBP officials.
During the secondary inspection, a K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect. A non-intrusive imaging inspection also revealed anomalies. The officers carried out a physical search of the truck and found 58 pounds methamphetamine hidden in the load of permanent magnets. Officials estimated the drugs to be worth in excess of $1.1 million.
Officials did not disclose the nationality of the driver. The officers seized the methamphetamine and the Ford truck.
The following day, officers assigned to the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge referred a 2003 Honda Accord to a secondary inspection station. An initial screening by a non-intrusive imaging scan and a K-9 detection team led to the discovery of 10 packages of drugs inside the vehicle. Officers determined the drugs to be 25 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $192,440.
The officers arrested the driver, a 38-year-old Mexican male from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and seized the vehicle.
Both suspects and the drugs valued at approximately $1.4 million were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation and possible drug smuggling charges.
“Our officers are dedicated to the safety and security of the United States, and this interception of a large amount of dangerous drugs is proof,” said Port Director Gregory Alvarez, Laredo Port of Entry.
The smuggling of methamphetamine into the U.S. from Mexico is on pace to shatter previous records, Breitbart Texas’ Jaeson Jones reported. During the first five months of Fiscal Year 2020, Drug Enforcement Administration officials report the seizure of $62,645 pounds of the drug. This nearly equals the 68,585 pounds seized in all of FY19 and exceeds the total of 57,440 pounds the year before.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
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