U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo International Bridge prevented $3,435,000 in alleged methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl from crossing the United States-Mexico border and making its way into our communities.
“These were outstanding interceptions of hard narcotics accomplished this past weekend by our frontline CBP officers who continue to demonstrate a tremendous resiliency, dedication to our border security mission and commitment towards keeping our communities safe,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/ Anzalduas.
On Dec. 11, a 53-year-old male U.S. citizen driving a Ford F-150 pickup arrived at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge and a CBP officer referred him for further inspection. The secondary inspection included utilizing non-intrusive imaging (NII) equipment which allowed the officer to discover 44 packages of alleged methamphetamine hidden within the truck’s gas tank. The 51.20 pounds (23.22 kg) are valued at $1,024,000.
Later that day, a 27-year-old male U.S. citizen from Edinburg, Texas arrived in a 2003 Lincoln Navigator and a secondary examination resulted in the discovery of three packages of alleged methamphetamine hidden within the SUV. The packages weighed 3.35 pounds (1.52 kg) and are valued at $67,000.
Lastly, on the same date and border crossing, CBP officers referred a 64-year-old woman, a U.S. citizen from Elsa, Texas driving a Jeep Patriot for a secondary inspection which resulted in the discovery of 44 packages of mixed hard narcotics. Officers removed a package weighing 2.5 pounds (1.14 kg) of alleged fentanyl, 10 packages of alleged brown heroin weighing 23.59 pounds (10.70 kg), 27 packages of black-tar heroin weighing 61.02 pounds (27.68 kg) and six packages of alleged cocaine weighing 14.11 pounds (6.40 kg). The combined street value of these narcotics is $2,344,000.
CBP OFO seized all the narcotics, the vehicles and arrested the three persons involved in the failed drug smuggling attempts. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) took them into custody as they continue with the investigations.
