LAREDO, Texas –While many U.S. residents dreamed of Powerball fortunes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at World Trade Bridge last Wednesday kept their focus steady on border security and seized consecutive loads of marijuana totaling nearly two tons.
“Our CBP officers working in cargo face a daunting task to find contraband hidden within the thousands of trucks that traverse our port each day,” said Port Director Gregory Alvarez, Laredo Port of Entry. “Their keen ability to apply their experience, employ a multi-layered inspectional approach and to utilize our technology effectively resulted in back-to-back seizures on Wednesday of nearly two tons of marijuana.”
Stacks of bundles containing 2,211 pounds of marijuana seized by CBP officers at World Trade Bridge
The larger of the two seizures occurred on Jan. 13 at World Trade Bridge when CBP officers referred a 1998 Volvo tractor hauling a commercial shipment of aluminum scrap for a secondary inspection. During the examination, CBP officers discovered 95 packages comingled with the compressed scrap aluminum containing a total of 2,211 pounds of alleged marijuana. The estimated street value for the narcotics is $442,155.
In the second seizure, also at World Trade Bridge, CBP officers referred a tractor trailer hauling a shipment of wooden studs for a secondary examination. Upon further examination and use of a non-intrusive imaging system, CBP officers discovered 62 bundles containing a total of 1,496 pounds of marijuana. The marijuana has an estimated street value of $299,208.
In both incidents, CBP officers seized the narcotics and referred the cases to Homeland Security Investigations special agents for further investigation.