Huge Drug Busts Continue to Plague Texas-Mexico Border

Border Patrol agents in Texas’ Laredo Sector recently seized $7.5 million in drugs during two busts. Three suspects were apprehended as a result.

On Saturday, agents confiscated more than 150 pounds of liquid methamphetamine; the drugs, which were hidden in a pickup truck, had a street value of $4.8 million, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

The liquid meth was being transported by a man from Orlando, Florida. 

One day prior, on Friday, agents seized two large packages of cocaine from a car in Gatesville. Two females were driving the vehicle. 

The seized cocaine has an estimated street value of $2.6 million. 

Laredo-based Acting Port Director Joseph Misenhelter said in a statement, “This is another example of the enforcement mindset and dedication from our CBP officers. I am very pleased with all of their efforts which resulted in the interception of these hard narcotics.” 

Earlier this year, a Laredo-based CBP spokesman told Breitbart Texas that the area has seen a spike in drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine. 

The spokesman told Breitbart Texas, “We have seen increases in hard narcotics. This includes cocaine, meth, and heroin.” He pointed out that typically, “narcotics activity fluctuates from season to season.”

While areas like Texas’ Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector are heavily patrolled by law enforcement, the Laredo Sector–which lies right next to the RGV Sector–remains porous. Many have speculated that drug smugglers and criminals are taking advantage of this while law enforcement officers focus their efforts on assisting with the crisis in the RGV area.  

In July Breitbart Texas took a group of grassroots leaders on a trip to highlight holes in border security in the Laredo Sector. Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby said, “The federal government, the State of Texas, and the media have presented a picture that the increase in security in the Rio Grande Valley sector is somehow representative of an increase in security along all of Texas’ border with Mexico. The Laredo sector is the next sector over and it is largely wide open.”

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.