CBP at the Brownsville Gateway International Bridge Seize $648K in Narcotics

Brownsville, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Brownsville Gateway International Bridge seized cocaine valued at approximately $648,000 that was discovered in a vehicle driven by a Matamoros man.

“Our frontline officers accomplished this excellent interception of hard narcotics due to great teamwork and resiliency,” said Michael Freeman, port director, Brownsville Port of Entry. “This exemplifies the outstanding commitment towards the CBP mission in helping keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.”

The seizure occurred on Tuesday afternoon, January 7, after CBP officers working at the Gateway International Bridge encountered a 26-year-old male Mexican national driving a gray 2008 Honda Odyssey.  A CBP officer referred the driver and vehicle to secondary for a more thorough inspection and during the course of the examination, officers discovered packages of suspected narcotics concealed within the Odyssey. CBP removed and seized eight packages of alleged cocaine weighing approximately 9.18 kilograms (20.24 lbs.) and seized the vehicle as well.

CBP arrested the male traveler and he was then released to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents for further investigation.