SANTA TERESA, N.M -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations Officers working at the Santa Teresa port of entry seized 2.5 pounds of cocaine and 180 pounds of marijuana last week.
The cocaine seizure was made early Sunday afternoon when an F-150 pickup truck with an adult female driver entered the port from Mexico. A CBP Officer initiated a secondary examination and noticed a suspicious package located in the center console. Officers probed the bundle and recovered a substance which tested positive for cocaine. The contraband weighed two and a half pounds.
two marijuana seizures occurred in the early morning on August 31. The first interception involved a Dodge Stratus with an adult male driver and adult male passenger. Forty bundles of marijuana, with a weight of 43 pounds, were deeply hidden in a non-factory compartment in the rear bumper. The second seizure occurred less than two hours later when a Lincoln Town Car, also driven by an adult male, was discovered to have marijuana concealed in a non-factory compartment in the trunk of the vehicle. The second load consisted of 120 bundles that weighed 137 pounds.
“Smugglers use various techniques to hide dangerous narcotics such as deep concealment in bumpers and trunks or by simply placing them in the arm rest compartment,” said CBP Santa Teresa Acting Port Director Jesse Proctor. “CBP Officers use experience and a multi-layered inspection system to counter these illegal activities, detect the contraband, and keep it out of our communities.”
CBP Officers arrested the four United States Citizens and turned them over to prosecuting partner-agencies to face charges in connection with the failed smuggling attempts.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.