Officials Seize Hard Narcotics Worth Over $11 Million
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Packages containing a total of 360 pounds of methamphetamine seized by CBP officers at World Trade Bridge.
LAREDO (News Release) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers seized hard narcotics in four separate, unrelated incidents that totaled over $11,000,000 in street value.
“In an effort to secure our Nation’s borders, as these narcotics seizures clearly illustrate, CBP has implemented enforcement strategies that have furthered the disruption of dangerous drugs entering the country,” said Acting Port Director Eugene Crawford, Laredo Port of Entry.
The first enforcement action occurred on April 19th at the World Trade Bridge after CBP officers encountered a tractor manifesting a shipment of copolymer regrind arriving from Mexico. The 1995 Freightliner and shipment were referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 234 packages containing 360.23 pounds of alleged methamphetamine within the shipment. The narcotics had an estimated street value of $7,204,632.
The second seizure occurred on April 20th at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge after a CBP officer referred a commercial bus arriving from Mexico for a secondary inspection. Following a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, CBP officers discovered a total of 50 packages containing 71.20 pounds of alleged methamphetamine within the bus. The narcotics had an estimated street value of $1,424,171.
The third enforcement action occurred on April 20th at the World Trade Bridge after CBP officers assigned to the cargo facility encountered a tractor hauling a shipment of clay tile arriving from Mexico. The 2004 Freightliner and shipment were referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 84.30 pounds of alleged cocaine, 41.40 pounds of alleged heroin and 16.35 pounds of alleged fentanyl within the trailer. The narcotics combined had an estimated street value of $2,046,880.
Packages containing varying amounts of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl with an aggregate street value of $2 million seized by CBP officers at World Trade Bridge.
The fourth enforcement action occurred on April 21 at the World Trade Bridge after CBP officers assigned to the cargo facility encountered a tractor hauling a shipment of plastic polyethylene scrap arriving from Mexico. The 1996 Freightliner and shipment were referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 20 packages containing 49.6 pounds of alleged cocaine within the trailer. The narcotics had an estimated street value of $382,500.
The four interceptions have a combined street value of $11,058,183.
CBP seized the narcotics and two trailers involved in the smuggling attempts. The cases were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.