HIDALGO, Texas—Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Hidalgo International Bridge arrested a mother and son from McAllen, Texas in connection with a failed drug smuggling attempt of heroin and methamphetamines.
“Our officers have intercepted this small but substantial amount of hard narcotics that was being smuggled by two local residents and due to their diligence, these dangerous drugs will be kept out of our communities,” said Efrain Solis Jr., port director, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening, March 23 after CBP officers encountered a grey 2012 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck along with a 53-year-old female United States citizen and her 32-year-old son, also a United States citizen. A CBP officer referred the Silverado to secondary for further inspection and in the process of the inspection and with the use of a vehicle non-intrusive imaging system, officers discovered packages of suspected narcotics hidden within the Chevy pickup. CBP officers removed two packages of alleged heroin weighing approximately 2.28 kilograms (5.03 lbs.) and three packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing approximately 4.28 kilograms (9.44 lbs.). CBP seized the heroin, which carries an estimated street value of $503,000, $302,000 for the methamphetamine and seized the Silverado as well.
CBP arrested both individuals and they were subsequently released to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents for further investigation.