On December 4, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it conducted several drug seizures at the Brownsville Port of Entry.
According to Hayden Sparks of The Texan, the estimated street value of the illicit substance seizures was approximately $681,596.
A CBP press statement revealed that non-intrusive imaging systems and canine units played a significant role in the success of the three drug seizures.
The first drug confiscation was carried out on December 1, at the Los Indios International Bridge.
In this incident, a 42-year-old male driving a 2009 Dodge vehicle was subjected to a secondary inspection, where CBP officials allegedly found 24 pounds of cocaine in 10 packages. The suspect in question is an American citizen who resides in San Benito.
The two other incidents occurred on December 2. Border guards at the Matamoros International Bridge caught a 47-year-old man driving a 2000 Ford vehicle following their discovery of roughly 21 pounds of cocaine stored in nine containers.
Further, agents at the Gateway International Bridge arrested a 23-year-old woman, an American national hailing from Laguna Vista, for allegedly carrying 17 pounds of methamphetamine stored in 13 packages in a 2011 Dodge vehicle.
Per CBP reports, the drugs in the first seizure were worth approximately $186,000, while the illicit substances seized in the second incident were worth roughly $161,160, and the narcotics seized from the Gateway International Bridge incident totaled about $333,776.
Brownsville Port of Entry Director Tater Ortiz said the following about the seizures: “Our officers use multiple enforcement tools to detect dangerous narcotics and prevent these deadly drugs from entering our country.”
Per CBP figures, 33,530 pounds of illegal substances were seized in the southwestern U.S.
The October numbers were the most recent monthly data of drug seizures available. In that month, 16,040 pounds of methamphetamine, 12,278 pounds of marijuana, 4,021 pounds of cocaine, 1,044 pounds of fentanyl, and 147 pounds of heroin were seized by CBP agents.