Heroin, methamphetamine packages found in car's battery
HIDALGO, Texas — Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations at the Hidalgo International Bridge arrested a woman from San Juan, Texas after discovering $335,000 worth of heroin and methamphetamine concealed within Chrysler Sebring she was driving.
“Our frontline officers accomplished this interception of hard narcotics that was being smuggled by methods previously encountered at our ports of entry,” said Efrain Solis Jr., port director, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. “The concept of trying to introduce small quantities of narcotics through our international bridges remains a constant, as smugglers will utilize all imaginable areas in vehicles to get their product across.”
Bundles containing 2.57 pounds of heroin were seized by CBP officers in Hidalgo, Texas.
The incident occurred on Sept. 13 at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. CBP officers encountered a gold 2002 Chrysler Sebring driven by a 27-year-old female United States citizen arriving from Mexico. After presenting a Texas identification card and birth certificate, she was referred to secondary for further inspection and it was there and with the use of a vehicle non-intrusive imaging system that officers discovered packages of suspected narcotics hidden with the Sebring’s battery.
Officers removed five packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing approximately 2.47 pounds and two packages of alleged heroin weighing approximately 2.56 pounds. CBP-OFO seized the heroin, which carries an estimated street value of $256,000, the methamphetamine, which was valued at $79,000 and seized the Chrysler as well.
CBP officers arrested the woman who was then released to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations agents.
CBP is part of the South Texas Campaign, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations.