Laredo CBP Officers Seize Hard Narcotics Worth Over $60 Million
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Nov 5, 2020, 0 Comments
Courtesy Jeniffer Gutierrez,
LAREDO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at the Colombia Solidarity Bridge and World Trade Bridge seized hard narcotics valued at $60 million in two separate, unrelated enforcement actions.
“The trafficking and production of methamphetamine has increased substantially over the past year, causing drug traffickers to become more creative in their methods of smuggling their product into America,” said Acting Port Director Andrew Douglas, Laredo Port of Entry.
The first enforcement action occurred on Tuesday, October 27th at the Colombia Solidarity Bridge when CBP officers assigned to the cargo facility encountered a tractor hauling an empty trailer from Mexico. The 2006 Freightliner tractor and shipment were referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 618 packages containing 1988.12 pounds of alleged methamphetamine discovered within the trailer. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $39,762,165.
The second seizure occurred on Wednesday, October 28th at the World Trade Bridge when CBP officers assigned to the cargo facility encountered a tractor hauling a shipment of frozen vegetables arriving from Mexico. The 1999 Freightliner tractor and shipment were referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 352 packages containing 1049.84 pounds of alleged methamphetamine discovered within the trailer. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $20,996,610.
The narcotics combined have an estimated street value of $60,758,775.
CBP officers seized the narcotics and both trailers. The cases were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.
