SANTA TERESA, N.M. -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations officers working at the Santa Teresa port of entry seized 84 pounds of marijuana Saturday. The estimated street value of the seized contraband is $67,200.
“Smuggling organizations will use every imaginable concealment method to get the narcotics through our international ports of entry,” said Ray Provencio, CBP Port Director in Santa Teresa. “This seizure compliments the focus and hard work that all our officers put forth each and every day.”
CBP officers discover drugs in vehicle dashboard.
The seizure was made at 12:40 p.m. after a 2002 Volvo S40 entered the port from Mexico. A CBP officer at the primary inspection booth selected the vehicle for a secondary exam. In secondary CBP narcotic sniffing dog “Bora” searched the vehicle and alerted to the dashboard area of the vehicle. CBP officers continued their search and removed 71 marijuana-filled bundles from the dashboard and gas tank of the vehicle.
CBP officers arrested the driver, 28-year-old David Humberto Leal Torres of Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico. He was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI agents to face charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.