Border Patrol Agents Seize $1.2M in Marijuana at Texas Border

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized nearly $1.2 million worth of marijuana as it was being smuggled across the Texas border with Mexico during a 2-day period last week.

Agents assigned to the Laredo Sector’s Zapata Station Marine Unit on November 28 observed a suspicious boat and a white truck near a boat landing at Falcon Lake. As agents observed the activity, the driver of the boat started up and returned to the Mexican side of the lake, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.

After securing the truck, the agents found numerous bundles of what later tested positive as being marijuana. The foiled drug shipment weighed 913 pounds. Officials estimated the street value to be approximately $729,868.

Two days later, other marine unit agents working out of the Zapata Station witnessed a suspicious boat making landfall north of Zapata, Texas. Agents conducted an extensive search of the area, officials stated. The search revealed several abandoned bundles.

The bundles were taken to the Zapata Station where they were tested and weighed. The load of 24 bundles found by the agents weighed 541 pounds and tested positive as being marijuana. The agents estimated the value to be in excess of $432,000.

“I commend the Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents for their vigilance and their ability to continue to disrupt criminal activity to dissuade organizations from smuggling dangerous contraband through the community of Zapata, Texas,” Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jason Owens said in a written statement obtained by Breitbart Texas.

Drug trafficking in the region is controlled by the Los Zetas Cartel which is headquartered in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles has reported extensively on the activities of this deadly cartel and the ongoing civil war between two factions of the organization.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.