PHARR, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted $1,784,458 worth of alleged marijuana and cocaine in two separate commercial shipments of fresh produce this weekend.
A cocaine package is visible within a bag of carrots. CBP officers seized a total of 164 pounds of cocaine hidden in a carrot shipment at Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.
“This was definitely a productive weekend at our Pharr, Texas cargo facility,” said Acting Port Director Javier Cantu, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. “Our frontline officers accomplished these extraordinary seizures of narcotics while still processing legitimate importations, an outstanding and sometimes unnoticed aspect of our job duties.”
The first seizure occurred on Nov. 28 after CBP officers working at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility referred a commercial shipment of fresh cucumbers for a secondary inspection. Once on the inspection dock, officers discovered packages of suspected narcotics comingled within the boxes of the cucumbers. Officers removed and seized 6,709 small packages of alleged marijuana which weighed approximately 2,632 pounds and carried an estimated street value of $526,458.
Cucumbers fill three CBP pickup trucks. CBP officers seized 2,632 pounds of marijuana comingled with a cucumber shipment at Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.
The second seizure occurred hours later at the same border crossing. This interception involved the detection and seizure of 64 packages of alleged cocaine that were concealed within a commercial shipment of fresh carrots. CBP officers discovered and seized approximately 164 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $1,258,000.
In both cases, CBP officers utilized all available tools and resources including a vehicle non-intrusive imaging system and canine enforcement teams. Both cases remain under investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents.