U.S. Customs and Border Protection

BROWNSVILLE (News Release) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Brownsville Port of Entry intercepted alleged narcotics in three separate enforcement actions that have a combined estimated street value of $1,069,619.

“Our CBP officers’ vigilance and attention to detail led to these significant drug seizures,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry.

Packages containing 59 pounds of cocaine seized by CBP officers at Los Indios International Bridge.

The first seizure took place on Thursday, May 26, at the Gateway International Bridge when a 25-year-old female United States citizen who resides in Brownsville, Texas, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2013 Ford. The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection. In secondary, with the aid of a canine unit, CBP officers discovered six packages hidden within the 2013 Ford. CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 13.49 pounds of alleged cocaine.

The second seizure also took place on Thursday, May 26, at the Gateway International Bridge when a 22-year-old female United States citizen who resides in San Benito, Texas, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2009 Ford. The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection. In secondary, with the aid of a canine unit and a non-intrusive inspection system (NII), CBP officers discovered 13 packages hidden within the vehicle.  CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 25.39 pounds of alleged methamphetamine.

The third seizure took place on Friday, May 27, at the Los Indios International Bridge when a 35-year-old male United States citizen who resides in Brownsville, Texas, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2020 Volkswagen. The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection. In secondary, with the aid of a non-intrusive inspection system (NII) and a canine unit, CBP officers discovered 23 packages hidden within the 2020 Volkswagen.  CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 59.34 pounds of alleged cocaine.

The estimated street value of the narcotics from the seizures is approximately $104,040, $507,939, and $457,640 respectively.

CBP officers seized the narcotics along with the vehicles, arrested the travelers and turned them over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.