280 Pounds of Meth Seized at Texas-Mexico Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized approximately 280 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated value of $7 million late last week at the Texas-Mexico border. The cumulative amount was the result of three separate inspections.

The first seizure occurred on Thursday afternoon when CBP officers working the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge in Laredo, Texas, contacted a 21-year-old female U.S. citizen from Houston driving a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica. A total of 65 packages of crystal methamphetamine concealed within the vehicle weighing 147 pounds were recovered. The estimated value of the meth was placed at $2,951,960.

The second seizure occurred when U.S. Border Patrol Agents assigned to an immigration checkpoint on Highway 57 contacted a 20-year-old Mexican national and a 21-year-old U.S. citizen inside a Chevrolet Aveo. Agents seized approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in a hidden compartment. The value was estimated at over $348,000. Both occupants were turned over to federal investigative personnel.

The final seizure occurred this past Friday when U.S. Border Patrol agents working the Falfurrias Immigration Checkpoint in Brooks County contacted the occupant of a Ford Fusion and referred him for a secondary inspection. A K-9 alerted officers to two containers filled with crystal methamphetamine, weighing over 120 pounds with an estimated street value of $3.9M. The driver and evidence were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for a determination of charges.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.