A record bust by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized $2 million in crystal methamphetamine at the Texas-Mexico border.
The 61 pounds of the highly addictive drug was confiscated in two different seizures during a two day period.
In the first, a 24-year-old Mexican male national drove his 1999 Nissan Tsuru through the Presidio port of entry. A customs officer flagged the car for a thorough inspection and a density measuring device was used on the front bumper of the car. It gave readings consistent with hidden contraband. Officers then drove the car through an x-ray system used to detect smuggled drugs. This inspection gave a reading alert on both the front and back bumpers.
A white crystalline substance was found in 34 packages and it field tested positive for methamphetamine. In all, the packages weighed 40 pounds. Prior to this seizure, the largest meth bust at the port of entry was in 2004.
In the second incident, a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta driven by a 26-year-old Mexican male was also directed for a secondary inspection. The dashboard of the car was scanned with a Z-Portal system and 19 packages of crystal meth was found in the dashboard. The packages were field tested and weighed and it was found that the drugs weighed 21 pounds in all.
“The narcotic interception Wednesday morning set a new crystal methamphetamine seizure record for the port,” stated acting Port Director Steven Green. “Due to the vigilance and dedication of our officers these dangerous drugs never made it to American streets.”
The Mexican nationals were arrested and CBP officers turned the drug smugglers over to Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. They are facing federal drug smuggling charges.
In February 2016, CBP agents seized 400 packages of methamphetamine with a street value of $1.1 million at the Arizona-Mexico border, as reported by Breitbart Texas. At that time, the bust was the largest in the history at the Nogales port of entry. Breitbart Texas noted that the size of a drug load is an indicator that it might have been arranged by a drug cartel in the region. We also predicted that given the momentum of marijuana legalization in the United States, trafficking of meth from Mexico would likely increase to make up the financial difference.
In December, Breitbart Texas reported that during just the first six weeks of the fiscal year, CBP agents in the El Centro Sector had seized 84 pounds of meth.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.