HOUSTON, Texas–Over the last week officers confiscated large amounts of marijuana and cocaine at various Border Patrol checkpoints in Texas.
Two females were arrested during separate incidents in Pharr for possessing large amounts of cocaine, according to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CPB). The two cocaine seized from both women had a total street value of over $2.1 million.
One of the seizures involved a 19-year-old Mexican national who attempted to pass through the checkpoint using her border-crossing card. After her vehicle was selected for further examination, officers discovered 25 packages of cocaine, which weighed 62.3 pounds and had a street value of about $1.99 million.
The other incident in Pharr, yielding about $161,000 of cocaine, also involved a Mexican national.
CBP spokesman Efrain Solis Jr. reportedly said, “These two independent interceptions of hard narcotics both involved the utilization of young women as transporters and due to our officers’ diligence and persistence, they zeroed in on the narcotics. These two young ladies will now face federal charges in U.S. District Court.”
During the same week, officers at Texas’ Laredo Port of Entry discovered a load of marijuana weighing more than five tons. The drugs were stored in more than 9,000 bundles, and hidden in a commercial vehicle carrying walnut cookies, a press release stated.
In response to the massive seizure, CBP’s Laredo Port Director, Joseph Misenhelter, said in a public statement, “Our front line officers are to be commended for their effective application of targeting, inspection skill, and experience as they seized one of the top five narcotics loads in the history of the Laredo Port of Entry. This seizure underscores that the drug threat remains quite real and our CBP officers are ever vigilant and committed to keeping our border community safe.”
Daniel Tirado, a spokesman for Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector, told Breitbart Texas that many of the state’s larger drug confiscations are made from commercial vehicles. But he pointed out the difficulty in detecting which of the trucks are carrying drugs. “A lot of legitimate commercial traffic goes through checkpoints,” he said. “Just because they’re commercial doesn’t mean that they’re transporting narcotics.”
Many have speculated that Mexican cartels are having a field day since the border is arguably porous. Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby recently reported that in one Texas Border Patrol sector, up to 70 percent of Border Patrol agents are currently taking care of the influx of unaccompanied minors from Central America, instead of manning the U.S.-Mexico border.
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.
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