BROWNSVILLE, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Brownsville Port of Entry intercepted alleged narcotics in three separate enforcement actions that have a combined estimated street value of more than $529,000.
“Our CBP officers use a variety of enforcement tools to safeguard our borders and have had ongoing success in their efforts to keep these dangerous narcotics from entering our country,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry.
seized by CBP officers at Brownsville Port of Entry.
The first seizure took place on Friday, Jan. 22, at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge when a 27-year-old male Mexican citizen from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, applied for entry into the United States as the driver of a 1994 Chevrolet. The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection. In secondary, with the aid of a canine unit and a non-intrusive imaging system (NII), CBP officers discovered nine packages hidden within the Chevrolet. CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 20.37 pounds of alleged cocaine.
The second seizure also occurred on Friday, Jan. 22, at the Veterans International Bridge when a 30-year-old male Mexican citizen from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2011 Ford. The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection. In secondary, with the aid of a canine unit and non-intrusive imaging system (NII), CBP officers discovered 15 packages hidden within the Ford. CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 35.80 pounds of alleged cocaine.
The third seizure took place on Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge when a 43-year-old male Mexican citizen from Brownsville, Texas, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2004 Toyota. The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection. In secondary, with the aid of a canine unit and non-intrusive imaging system (NII), CBP officers discovered four packages hidden within the Toyota. CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 8.15 pounds of alleged cocaine.
The combined estimated street value of the narcotics from the seizures is approximately $529,150.
CBP officers seized the narcotics along with the vehicles, arrested the drivers and turned them over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.