CBP Field Operations Intercepts Narcotics in Commercial Shipments Worth Nearly $2 Million at the World Trade Bridge
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Mar 17, 2020, 0 Comments
Courtesy Jennifer Gutierrez,
LAREDO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at the World Trade Bridge seized a generous amount of narcotics in separate unrelated incidents on Thursday, March 12 that totaled nearly $2 million in street value.
“These drugs will not reach our communities due to the efforts of the officers in our cargo facilities,” said Port Director Gregory Alvarez, Laredo Port of Entry. “We maintain an aggressive posture against criminal networks and their organizations.”
The first enforcement action occurred after CBP officers assigned to the cargo facility encountered a shipment of scrap metal arriving from Mexico. The 2013 Freightliner truck and trailer was referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection resulting in the discovery of 854 packages containing 8414.6 pounds of alleged marijuana concealed within the commodity. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $1,682,903.
Later that afternoon, a 2000 Freightliner truck was referred for inspection and a subsequent physical inspection of the cab area of the conveyance resulted positive after CBP officers discovered 5 packages containing 12.4 pounds of alleged cocaine. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $95,540.
The seized narcotics have a combined estimated street value of $1,778,443.
CBP seized the narcotics and turned the cases over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.
