LAREDO, Texas — Two drug busts at the U.S.- Mexican border highlighted a productive month of June for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.
According to a media release, CBP officers at Laredo Field Office ports of entry seized methamphetamine valued at more than $72.3 million in two separate enforcement actions over the long Juneteenth holiday weekend.
One of those busts involved a semi truck.
The larger seizure occurred on Friday, June 19, at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, when a CBP officer referred a 2011 Dodge Ram stake bed hauling a shipment manifested as “polypropylene” for secondary inspection. Following a canine and nonintrusive inspection system examination, CBP officers discovered a total of 7,047.73 pounds of suspected methamphetamine within the commodity. The narcotics have a street value of $63,002,534.
The second seizure also occurred on Friday, June 19, when CBP officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility encountered a tractor-trailer traveling from Reynosa, Mexico.
CBP stated in its release that the big rig was referred to secondary for further inspection utilizing nonintrusive inspection equipment which reportedly revealed anomalies within the trailer.
Physical inspection of the trailer resulted in the extraction of 193 packages of alleged methamphetamine with a combined weight of 1,042.78 lbs. (473 kg.) concealed within the trailer. The narcotics have a total street value of $9,321,884.
“These large-scale cargo methamphetamine seizures, both taken the same day at different ports of entry within the Laredo Field Office, underscore the serious drug threat our officers are facing as well as their resolve to stem the flow of this poison into the U.S.,” said Director of Field Operations Donald R. Kusser, Laredo Field Office. “Our frontline officers remain committed to carrying out our border security mission, as exemplified by these significant enforcement actions.”
In each enforcement action, CBP seized the narcotics and the vehicles. Homeland Security Investigations special agents initiated criminal investigations into both seizures.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
