US CBP Officers Seize Over $900K in Hard Narcotics at the Laredo Port of Entry

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Laredo Port of Entry seized hard narcotics valued at over $900,000 in two separate, unrelated enforcement actions at both the World Trade and Juarez Lincoln Bridges.

“Narcotics interceptions like these continue to play a key role in advancing CBP’s law enforcement mission to keep our streets safe and secure from illegal activity,” said Acting Port Director Eugene E. Crawford, Laredo Port of Entry.

The first narcotics interception occurred on Wednesday, December 2nd when CBP officers assigned to the World Trade Bridge cargo facility encountered an express consignment truck with a manifested shipment of a marble lamp. The 2007 Kenworth box truck and its shipment were referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of six packages containing 5.25 pounds of alleged methamphetamine within the shipment. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $104,939.

The second narcotics seizure occurred on Saturday, December 5th when CBP officers assigned to the bus operations at the Juarez Lincoln Bridge encountered a commercial passenger bus traveling from Monterrey, Mexico to Louisiana. A 2011 Irizar bus was referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 42 packages totaling 103.57 pounds of alleged cocaine hidden within an overhead compartment. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $798,660.

The narcotics combined have an estimated street value of $903,599.

CBP officers seized the narcotics. The cases were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.