$3.2M in Meth Seized at Texas Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized more than $3.2 million in crystal methamphetamine in two separate smuggling incidents in Laredo, Texas. The incidents occurred on February 28 and March 1.

Officers assigned to the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge between Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, observed a 1999 Ford Explorer approach the international border. The officers referred the driver, a 40-year-old female U.S. citizen from Houston, to a secondary inspection station, information obtained by Breitbart Texas from CBP officials revealed.

Following a non-intrusive inspection and a K-9 search, the officers found 132 pounds of crystal meth. Officials estimated the street value of the drugs to be $2,642,992. Officers arrested the woman and seized her truck along with the meth. Following her arrest, officials turned the woman over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) for investigation and possible prosecution.

The following day, March 1, CBP officers assigned to the Columbia Solidarity Bridge encountered a tractor-trailer loaded with a shipment of fresh avocados. The officers referred the driver, a 45-year-old Mexican male from Zamora, Monclova, to the secondary inspection station. Officers conducted a non-intrusive inspection and K-9 search of the trailer. During the inspection, officers discovered 29 pounds of crystal meth, wrapped in four packages.

Officials determined the 29-pound shipment to be valued at $589,069.

Officers arrested the Mexican national and turned him over to ICE-HSI agents for investigation. Federal officials seized the tractor-trailer and drug shipment.

A statement from CBP officials valued the two shipments at $3,231,061.

“CBP officers display exemplary vigilance in keeping dangerous drugs off our streets,” Laredo Port of Entry Port Director Gregory Alvarez said in the written statement. “The narcotics that were seized are the kind that have been devastating the most vulnerable members of our communities.”

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.