WASHINGTON: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working in the Laredo Sector found the drugs during a search of a Kenworth tractor that was crossing the World Trade Bridge from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, into Texas. The truck, being driven by a 28-year-old Mexican national was referred to a secondary inspection station, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the CBP revealed.
A K-9 officer alerted to the scent of narcotics and a nonintrusive imaging system detected anomalies warranting a more invasive search of the cab. Officers found 12 bundles of drugs that tested positive for cocaine. The 28 pounds of cocaine has an estimated street value of $214,500, officials stated.
The driver of the truck was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations for possible prosecution. The truck and the cocaine were seized by federal officials.
“Our officers continue to maintain strict vigilance of all traffic in the cargo environment and by applying discipline, experience and all our technological resources, our officers seized a significant amount of cocaine,” Laredo Port of Entry Acting Port Director Alberto Flores said in a written statement.
Elsewhere on the border, CBP officers in Brownsville seized $112,880 worth of cocaine being smuggled over the Gateway International Bridge from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, into Texas. The drugs were found in a 2006 Chevy HHR on July 22 when a 29-year-old Mexican national attempted to enter the U.S. A secondary inspection revealed five packages of narcotics that tested positive for cocaine. The drugs weighed 14.64 pounds. The Mexican man was turned over to ICE-HSI for possible prosecution.
“We remain committed to securing our borders,” Port Director Petra Horne said in a written statement. “Our officers take this responsibility very seriously and have been successful in intercepting these dangerous narcotics.”
