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  4. Vehicle with 665 Pounds of Marijuana Ferried Across the Rio Grande

Vehicle with 665 Pounds of Marijuana Ferried Across the Rio Grande

Release Date
Fri, 06/25/2021

EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Border Patrol agents interdict three smuggling attempts resulting in the seizure of more than $1.2M worth of narcotics.

Tuesday morning, Brownsville Border Patrol Station (BRP) agents working in Brownsville, Texas, near the Rio Grande, discovered footprints leading away from the river and towards the River Bend Golf Resort. Agents followed the footprints to an area west of the Sunset Lake Subdivision where they discovered six bundles of marijuana. Agents searched the nearby area but no subjects were discovered. The abandoned bundles of marijuana weighed over 124 pounds with an estimated street value of over $99K.

Yesterday afternoon, BRP agents working in Brownsville, Texas, encountered a white Ford Explorer suspected of being used in narcotics smuggling. Agents followed behind the vehicle and attempted to stop it when it failed to yield. The driver changed direction and began to travel towards the Rio Grande. The vehicle splashed down into the river and two subjects quickly exited the vehicle carrying two bundles of suspected marijuana and retreated to Mexico. At the river, agents discovered a trailer retrofitted with barrels around the frame making the trailer buoyant. Agents suspect the Ford Explorer was rafted across the river into the United States using the trailer. Agents advised Mexican authorities, who responded to the area and seized two vehicles and two bundles of marijuana near the Mexican riverbank. Agents extracted 29 bundles of marijuana from the Ford Explorer. The marijuana weighed over 665 pounds with an estimated street value of over $530K.

Additionally, over 12 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly 8 pounds of heroin were seized at the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint.

The narcotics were turned 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.

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.

~CBP~

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.

Last Modified: Jun 25, 2021