PRESIDIO: Field operations officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection have seized 143 pounds of marijuana at the Presidio port. The street value of drugs concealed in the ceiling of a vehicle was estimated to be around $ 114,400.
“CBP has discovered drugs in just about every imaginable location of a vehicle,” said Steven Green, acting Presidio Port Director. “Smugglers worked hard to conceal this load but CBP officers worked harder to find it,” he added.
The vehicle entered the port from Mexico. CBP scanned the vehicle with the Z-Portal x-ray system and noted anomalies in the appearance of the ceiling. CBP officers continued their exam and located numerous tape-wrapped bundles concealed in a hidden ceiling compartment. Officers removed 202 marijuana-filled bundles from the compartment. CBP officer arrested the driver of the truck, a 21-year-old resident of Chihuahua, Mexico.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.