More than $1 million worth of cocaine was seized last week by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Pharr Bridge facility in South Texas.
Officers discovered the cocaine concealed inside a commercial tractor-trailer attempting to cross into America from Mexico on April 25, according to a recent CBP news release.
The CBP detailed in their report that the vehicle was flagged for a secondary inspection, during which officers used a “nonintrusive imaging system” to scan the suspicious trailer, as well as a screening from a K-9 team. The inspection uncovered around 30 total packages of wrapped cocaine hidden within the vehicle.
The total weight of the drugs amounted to 76.19 pounds (34.56 kilograms), with an estimated street value of $1,017,300.
“Our CBP officers use all available tools and resources to find and identify narcotics at our international crossings,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez.
CBP officials seized both the narcotics and the tractor-trailer, and as of Tuesday, Homeland Security has launched a criminal investigation into the case. No arrests have been publicly announced in the case as of the time of publication.
The Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge is a major commercial crossing in the Rio Grande Valley. Commercial carriers frequently use it to transport goods between the U.S. and Mexico. The bridge is also allegedly a common entry point for drug smugglers and human traffickers.
However, South Texas wasn’t the only area hit by a big cocaine bust this week.
CBP officers also intercepted 193 pounds of cocaine from a Canada-bound truck near the Ambassador Bridge in Michigan on April 20, making it the third major cocaine seizure in Detroit since late March.
“Safe and secure international commerce is essential to protecting the homeland,” said Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon. “Rest assured that we’ll continue to leverage all available resources to disrupt the transnational drug trade and those seeking to exploit our Michigan ports of entry.”
For perspective, a surge in global cocaine production has generated an additional $25 billion in revenue for transnational criminal organizations in 2024, per InsightCrime.
In Colombia alone, cocaine output rose by as much as 1,000 tons, pushing the wholesale market value to approximately $66.6 billion (based on an average price of $25,000 per kilogram) – a big jump from the previous year’s estimated value of $43.5 billion.