Edinburg, Texas - U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector confiscated more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana Tuesday morning and teamed up later that evening with the La Joya Police Department to keep an additional 2,200 pounds of marijuana off the streets..
Agents assigned to the Weslaco Station were working south of Pharr, Texas, when they discovered fresh footprints leading to a brushy area. During an extensive search of the area agents discovered 28 burlap sacks filled with more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana.
The marijuana was valued over $1 million and was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.
Later that evening the La Joya Police Department requested assistance from the Border Patrol in the execution of a search warrant.
During the search more than 2,200 pounds of marijuana, valued at over $1.8 million, was recovered on the premises concealed in a cargo van parked inside the garage.
The vehicle and the narcotics were transported to the La Joya Police Department.
"By working together with local law enforcement agencies on operations such as this we significantly multiply the available resources needed to keep drugs out of our communities," Acting Chief Patrol Agent Armando Mercado Jr. said. "Additionally, it bolsters our efforts to secure our nation's borders."