CBP Officers at Hidalgo International Bridge Arrest California Woman with Methamphetamine

HIDALGO, TEXAS—Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Hidalgo International Bridge seized over $100,000 worth of methamphetamine from an Escondido, Calif. woman.

The seizure/arrest occurred on Monday afternoon, February 25, when a 22-year-old female United States citizen from California arrived at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge through the pedestrian lanes. A CBP officer conducted a preliminary search of her luggage and in the process of inspecting her suitcase, packages of suspected narcotics were discovered. The female was immediately secured and escorted to secondary and it was there that officers discovered four packages of alleged methamphetamine which were hidden within the suitcase. CBP seized the narcotics which weighed approximately 3.14 kilograms (6.92 pounds) and have an estimated street value of $104,000.

CBP officers arrested the adult female and subsequently released her to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further investigation.

"This is another compact but significant seizure of hard narcotics that our officers have intercepted that was being smuggled utilizing luggage," said Efrain Solis Jr., port director, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. "This interception occurred due to our officers' great observational skills and outstanding line of questioning techniques."