HIDALGO, TEXAS—Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations at the Hidalgo International Bridge seized almost six pounds of methamphetamine and arrested a man from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.
The seizure/arrest occurred on Thursday morning, May 30, 2013 at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge after CBP-OFO officers encountered a 22-year-old male Mexican citizen as a passenger in a Mexican based taxicab arriving from Reynosa. A CBP officer referred the taxicab and its occupants to secondary for further inspection and it was there that officers discovered that one of the occupants had packages of suspected narcotics strapped to his lower body. The adult male traveler was immediately secured and further inspection revealed four packages of alleged methamphetamine, which weighed approximately 2.60 kilograms (5.73 pounds). CBP-OFO seized the narcotics, which have an estimated street value of a $86,000.
CBP-OFO arrested the male and subsequently released him to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents for further investigation.
"These hard narcotics were intercepted and kept out of our communities due to our officers' outstanding ability to detect irregularities and inconsistencies," said Efrain Solis Jr., Port Director, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. "This failed drug smuggling technique has been utilized previously and our officers have once again prevailed by detecting it."