Federal officers seized more than 127 pounds of methamphetamine in two separate busts at El Paso ports of entry over the weekend.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials announced that the first drug seizure took place on June 28 at the Ysleta international crossing.
A 30-year-old Mexican woman driving a Chrysler Pacifica was flagged for further inspection by CBP agents after a scan revealed irregularities in the car’s frame. A drug-sniffing dog confirmed the officers’ suspicions, and a deeper search uncovered a hidden compartment in the vehicle’s front bumper containing a large amount of drugs.
In total, officers extracted 19 tightly wrapped bundles of methamphetamine weighing a total of 79.5 pounds from the Chrysler alone. The driver was subsequently on site and handed over to the Texas Department of Public Safety for prosecution on state drug trafficking charges.
The second big Meth bust took place the next day, June 29, at the Bridge of the Americas crossing, when a 49-year-old American citizen arrived from Mexico in a 2006 Honda Ridgeline truck.
After an initial scan revealed anomalies in the truck’s quarter panels, similar to those seen in the Chrysler Pacifica the prior day, a canine unit alerted officers to the presence of drugs—an inspection led to the discovery of 40 bundles of methamphetamine hidden within the truck. The total weight of the seizure on June 29 was 47.8 pounds of meth.
The driver was arrested immediately and transferred to Homeland Security Investigations to face federal charges for drug importation.
“The drug smuggling threat remains consistent, and CBP is well equipped to identify and stop these drug loads before they reach our shared communities. Every drug seizure CBP makes could potentially save the life of someone,” said CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha.
Together, the busts pulled in over 127 pounds of methamphetamine: a street value potentially estimated in the millions.
It seems as if CBP officers are making huge drug busts on a consistent weekly basis at the southern border.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, last week CBP officers in Texas seized nearly 48 pounds of cocaine valued at over $600,000, and also arrested a fugitive wanted for child rape in 2 separate incidents.
At the Hidalgo International Bridge, officers inspected a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu arriving from Mexico, finding 20 cocaine-filled packages hidden in the engine compartment. The total street value was estimated at over $630,000.