EDINBURG, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector continue to interdict drug smuggling attempts.
Yesterday afternoon, Fort Brown agents on patrol near Brownsville, Texas, observed several shoe prints coming from the Rio Grande and heading north towards the Brownsville ship channel. As the agents followed the tracks, they discovered three abandoned bundles of marijuana. The drugs weighed more than 65 pounds and are worth an estimated $54K.
A short while later, agents working near Garceno, Texas, witnessed multiple subjects carrying bundles of suspected narcotics illegally enter the United States. As the agents approached the group, the smugglers dropped the bundles and attempted to flee back to Mexico. With the assistance of a Border Patrol K-9 team, agents located and arrested a Mexican national and seized nine bundles of marijuana with a weight of more than 440 pounds, worth an estimated $358K.
That same night, Kingsville agents working at the Javier Vega, Jr. checkpoint conducted an immigration inspection on the occupants of a commercial bus. During the inspection, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to one of the bus passenger’s luggage. Inside the luggage, agents discovered nearly half a pound of heroin worth an estimated $14K. Agents identified and the smuggler and escorted him to the station for processing. Border Patrol turned the subject and drugs over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The public is encouraged to take a stand against crime in their communities and report suspicious activity at 800-863-9382
.
Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.
Please visit www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to Customs and Border Protection. Follow us on Twitter @CBPRGV, @USBPChiefRGV and @USBPDepChiefRGV.