$340K in Coke Seized on Passenger Bus at Texas Border Immigration Checkpoint

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents seized a shipment of cocaine being smuggled on a passenger bus through an immigration checkpoint located about 60 miles from the Texas border with Mexico.

Interstate 35 Checkpoint Border Patrol agents carried out a routine inspection on a commercial bus on February 16. A K-9 agent alerted to the presence of an odor it is trained to detect, according to a statement released by Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials on Friday.

The K-9 agent alerted to a small blue suitcase in the cargo area of the bus. The agents opened the suitcase and found four vacuum-sealed bundles of what appeared to be cocaine, officials stated. The agents tested the drugs and received a positive result for cocaine.

The drugs weighed approximately 10.6 pounds (4.8 kgs) and have an estimated street value of $338,912, officials reported.

The agents seized the drugs and turned them over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for investigation. Officials did not report any arrests in connection with the cocaine seizure.

A few days later, agents assigned to the Laredo South station observed several people carrying large bundles through a neighborhood in west Laredo. As the agents approached, they observed the people preparing to place the bundles in a vehicle near the border. The driver of the vehicle fled as the agents approached.

The five suspected smugglers dropped their load and fled back across the Rio Grande River into Mexico.

The agents seized the bundles and determined them to be packed with marijuana. The drugs weighed more than 321.9 pounds. Officials estimated the value to be $275,356.

No arrests were made and the driver of the vehicle managed to drive away as the agents focused on confiscating the drugs.