Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Agents Net $11.2 M Worth of Narcotics in 3 Days

Edinburg, Texas - Over the past weekend U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley sector seized nearly 14,000 pounds of marijuana and more than eight pounds of cocaine.

The largest marijuana seizure occurred Friday evening when a man attempted to drive a tractor-trailer through the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas.

During the primary inspection a Border Patrol canine detected the possible presence of contraband in the vehicle. Upon further investigation agents discovered more than 5,500 pounds of marijuana hidden inside the trailer.

The driver was arrested and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency, along with the marijuana.

The cocaine was seized when two men and two women attempted to travel through the Border Patrol checkpoint in Sarita, Texas, in a Ford Freestar minivan. While an agent was questioning the van’s occupants regarding their citizenship status, a Border Patrol canine indicated the van was likely carrying contraband. During a secondary inspection more than eight pounds of cocaine, with a value of nearly $270,000, was found hidden in the vehicle.

The four occupants of the van and the cocaine were turned over to the DEA.

An unsual seizure occurred Sunday when agents from the Corpus Christi Station were patrolling the Padre Island National Seashore. The agents were approached by a man who said some strange packages had washed up on the beach near his camp. The agents followed the man to his camp, where he turned over more than 150 pounds marijuana.

Additional seizures throughout the Rio Grande Valley Sector pushed the total marijuana seized from Friday to Sunday to nearly seven tons. The estimated value of the weekend’s narcotics seizures is more than $11.2 million.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

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