Federal customs officers stopped a shipment of nearly 200 pounds of liquid methamphetamine hidden in the fuel tank of pickup truck crossing the border from Mexico into south Texas. The value of the drugs is estimated by law enforcement officials to be worth nearly $4 million.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working that the Hidalgo International Bridge in the Rio Grande Valley Sector observed a white 2008 Chevy Silverado pickup truck approaching the port of entry from Reynosa, Mexico. The 20-year-old female driver, a U.S. citizen from Houston, Texas, stopped her truck at the initial inspection point. CBP officers referred the driver to a secondary inspection where they later found the dangerous drugs, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from CBP officials.
The officers initially conducted a physical search of the pickup truck. Following the physical inspection, officers conducted a non-intrusive search of the truck using an imaging system. That search revealed a hidden tank inside the trucks fuel tank.
The officers removed the tank and discovered 188.89 pounds of liquid methamphetamine. The load of meth is estimated to be worth $3,777,802 according to the CBP statement.
Law enforcement officials took the young Texas woman into custody. Officers seized the drugs and the truck. All were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations who will look into the case for possible prosecution.
It is likely that the woman smuggled the methamphetamine for the Gulf Cartel which routinely controls drug smuggling in this part of the border.
In April, Breitbart Texas reported the government of Mexico sent 400 soldiers into the region to search for the head of the Gulf Cartel, Julian “Comandante Toro” Loiza Salinas aka Juan Manuel Loiza Salinas.
Two weeks later, Breitbart Texas broke the news that soldiers had found and killed “Comandante Toro” in a massive gun battle. The photos leaked from Mexican officials revealed the gruesome outcome of the fierce clash between the soldiers and the now-deceased cartel leader.
Just last week, a new battle for control of the valuable drug and human smuggling corridor broke out. More than 20 people died in the raging gunfights between the rival factions of the Gulf Cartel, Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles reported.
The arrest of the young woman from Texas reveals that despite the death of the cartel boss and the raging civil war occurring in Tamaulipas, the shipment of drugs continues.
However, increased enforcement of U.S. immigration laws by the new Trump Administration dramatically decreased the number of border crossings by illegal immigrants, women and unaccompanied alien children in the sector. Because of this, agents are spending less time processing and “babysitting” the illegal immigrants and are able to refocus their efforts to stop the smuggling of illicit drugs across the border from Mexico into the U.S.
Information obtained by Breitbart Texas from CBP officials indicates a 177 percent increase in the seizure of heroin and a 129 percent increase in the seizure of cocaine. “The increase in illicit drug activity comes at a time when apprehensions have declined in recent months,” officials stated.
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 and Facebook.