LAREDO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from the Laredo Port of Entry arrested two men and seized $1.4 million in narcotics in two separate, unrelated enforcement actions this weekend.
“These unrelated cases provide a prime example to illustrate how technology serves as an integral tool to assist our frontline officers in detecting and intercepting illegal activity,” said Port Director Joseph Misenhelter, Laredo Port of Entry. “However, the equipment is only as good as its operator and the positive alerts to these deeply concealed narcotics are due to the officers’ training and dedication to our CBP mission.”
The most recent incident occurred on Saturday, August 1 when a CBP officer working at World Trade Bridge referred a commercial truck driven by a 29-year-old male Mexican citizen from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico for a secondary non-intrusive imaging system examination that indicated anomalies in the trailer it was hauling. An intensive examination by CBP officers resulted in the discovery of 249 packages allegedly containing 5,163 pounds of marijuana concealed within the trailer with an estimated value of $1 million.
The other seizure occurred on Friday, July 31, at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge when a CBP officer referred a 2005 Chevy Equinox driven by a 28-year-old male Mexican citizen from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico for examination. A non-intrusive imaging system inspection revealed anomalies within the vehicle and CBP officers extracted 10 bundles allegedly containing 29 pounds of methamphetamines worth an estimated $410,497.
CBP officers seized the narcotics, vehicles and arrested both male drivers who were then turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.