NEW YORK: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found more than a ton of marijuana in a shipment of vegetables in the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
The 197 packages of marijuana were found in a 1996 utility tractor trailer hauling vegetables, according to a news release, entering the U.S. at the Pharr International Bridge. The type of vegetables, their origin and intended destination, were not revealed in the release.
The Dec. 19 seizure was detected during a secondary inspection, using a “non-intrusive imaging” x-ray system and dogs, according to the release. The estimated street value of the 2,350 pounds of marijuana is $470,000.
Customs and Border Protection seized the shipment and tractor trailer.
On the same day, Customs and Border Protection officers found 109 pounds of alleged cocaine on a commercial bus crossing at the Hidalgo International Bridge, also in Texas. The cocaine has an estimated street value of almost $844,000, according to the release.
“These are remarkable interceptions by our CBP officers in the cargo and passenger environments,” Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry Acting Director Carlos Rodriguez said in the release. “They continue to make significant narcotics seizures by combining their experience with the use of technology and other available tools to accomplish the CPB mission.”
