DESERT HAVEN, TX. – Border Patrol Agents working at a Border Patrol immigration checkpoint outside of El Paso intercepted a man earlier this week who attempted to smuggle approximately 530 pounds of marijuana concealed inside a truck.
On Monday, agents assigned to the checkpoint on highway 62/180 watched as a white Ford F-250 approached the primary inspection area. Agents immediately noted the excessively nervous behavior of the driver. As agents began to inspect the vehicle, they also recognized it had after-market modifications. Once in secondary inspection, agents brought in a drug-sniffing canine to conduct a non-intrusive search. The canine quickly alerted to the possible presence of narcotics inside the truck.
Agents then found a black toolbox that appeared to have been recently installed. Additional search of the tool box’s interior resulted in the discovery of two hidden compartments. The agents opened the trap doors and found plastic-wrapped bundles consistent with the smuggling of narcotic loads. The discovery amounted to 290 bundles of marijuana inside the toolbox, which totaled 531.4 pounds, valued at $425,000. The U.S. Citizen driver was placed under arrest while the vehicle and the contraband were seized and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, who accepted the case for prosecution.
This latest drug smuggling attempt is a another prime example of the important work U.S. Border Patrol agents do on a daily basis to keep drugs off our streets and out of our communities.