LAREDO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry seize contraband worth over $250,000 while conducting enforcement operations.
“CBP has many layers of enforcement strategies and our officers will go above and beyond to keep illicit contraband from being imported and exported from our country and affecting our communities,” said Port Director Gregory Alvarez, Laredo Port of Entry.
seized by CBP officers at World Trade Bridge.
On Thursday, May 7, officers working outbound operations stopped a pedestrian traveling to Mexico for inspection. Upon physical inspection of the pedestrian’s personal belongings, officers discovered packages of undeclared currency in the amount of $12,031. The currency was seized by CBP.
The second seizure, also on May 7, occurred at the World Trade Bridge, when CBP officers assigned to the cargo facility encountered a tractor and empty trailer arriving from Mexico. The 1998 Ford Sterling trailer was referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 341 packages containing 1,205.04 pounds of alleged marijuana concealed within the trailer. CBP seized the narcotics worth $241,007 in estimated street value.
The narcotics and unreported currency have a combined estimated street value of $253,038.
The cases were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.