Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. Local Media Release
  4. Brownsville CBP Officers Seize $976K in Narcotics in Two Seizures

Brownsville CBP Officers Seize $976K in Narcotics in Two Seizures

Release Date
Fri, 01/22/2021

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Brownsville Port of Entry intercepted alleged narcotics in two separate enforcement actions that have a combined estimated street value of $976,846.

“These are two important seizures of dangerous drugs which highlight our officers’ commitment to keep our border secure and stop dangerous narcotics from entering our country,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry.

Packages containing nearly 49 pounds of cocaine seized by CBP officers at Brownsville Port of Entry.
Packages containing nearly 49 pounds of cocaine
seized by CBP officers at Brownsville Port of Entry.

The first seizure took place on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Veterans International Bridge when a 21-year-old male United States citizen applied for entry into the United States driving a 2014 Nissan Altima. The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection. In secondary, with the aid of a non-intrusive imaging system (NII) and a canine unit, CBP officers discovered eight packages which contained a total of 13.09 pounds of alleged methamphetamine and seven packages which contained a total of 12.34 pounds of alleged heroin.

The second seizure took place on Thursday, Jan. 21, at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge when a 23-year-old female United States citizen from Brownsville, Texas, applied for entry into the United States as the driver of a 2010 Dodge Journey. 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 21 packages hidden within the Dodge Journey which contained a total of 48.98 pounds of alleged cocaine.

The estimated street value of the narcotics from the seizures is approximately $377,200 in heroin and $261,906 in methamphetamine and $377,740 in cocaine from the second seizure.

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

 

Last Modified: Jun 22, 2023