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  4. Brownsville CBP Officers Seize $703K Worth of Narcotics in Three Seizures

Brownsville CBP Officers Seize $703K Worth of Narcotics in Three Seizures

Release Date
Mon, 04/18/2022

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 $703,926.

“Our officers remain alert as they use multiple enforcement tools to conduct their inspections while they carry out our CBP mission of keeping our borders secure,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry.

Packages containing nearly 32 pounds of cocaine seized by CBP officers at Brownsville Port of Entry.
Packages containing nearly 32 pounds of cocaine
seized by CBP officers at Brownsville Port of Entry.

The first seizure took place on Thursday, April 14 at the Veterans International Bridge when a 20-year-old female United States citizen who resides in Chicago, Illinois, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2011 Jeep.  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 inspection system (NII), CBP officers discovered 14 packages hidden within the 2011 Jeep.  CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 31.79 pounds of alleged cocaine.

The second seizure took place on Friday, April 15, at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge when a 23-year-old male Mexican citizen who resides in Brownsville, Texas, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2003 BMW.  The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection.  In secondary, with the aid of a canine unit, CBP officers discovered 10 packages hidden within the vehicle.  CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 23.01 pounds of alleged cocaine.

The third seizure took place on Sunday, April 17, at the Gateway International Bridge when a 19-year-old male United States citizen who resides in Brownsville, Texas, applied for entry into the United States driving a 2015 Chrysler.  The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection.  In secondary, with the aid of a non-intrusive inspection system (NII) and a canine unit, CBP officers discovered six packages hidden within the 2015 Chrysler.  CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 14.06 pounds of alleged methamphetamine.

The estimated street value of the narcotics from the seizures is approximately $245,140, $177,480, and $281,306, respectively.

CBP officers seized the narcotics along with the vehicles, arrested the travelers and turned them over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.

For more information about CBP, please click on the attached link.

Follow the Director of CBP’s Laredo Field Office on Twitter at @DFOLaredo and also U.S. Customs and Border Protection at @CBPSouthTexas for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the comprehensive management, control, and protection of our nation’s borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection at and between official ports of entry.

Last Modified: Jun 06, 2022