U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo International Bridge intercepted $4,109,000 worth of alleged cocaine in two separate incidents over the weekend.
“Our CBP officers used of all of our available tools and resources to thwart these smuggling attempts and prevented these massive amounts of harmful narcotics from getting to American streets,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.
On March 3, 2023, CBP officers assigned to the Hidalgo International Bridge encountered a black Infiniti SUV making entry from Mexico. A CBP officer referred the vehicle for further inspection. After physically inspecting the vehicle, which included utilizing non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment and screening by a (canine team). Physical inspection of the vehicle resulted in officers extracting a total of 10 packages of alleged cocaine weighing 25.97 pounds (11.78 kg) concealed within the vehicle.
On March 4, 2023, CBP officers at the Hidalgo International Bridge encountered a white Mercedes van making entry from Mexico. A CBP officer referred the vehicle for further inspection which included utilizing non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment. Physical inspection of the vehicle resulted in the extraction of 105 packages of alleged cocaine weighing 281.83 pounds (127.84 kg) concealed within the vehicle.
CBP OFO seized the narcotics and vehicles. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special initiated criminal investigations into both seizures.
