Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – On Thursday, Rio Grande Valley agents seized marijuana and methamphetamine worth more than $1M dollars.
Yesterday morning, Fort Brown agents working in Brownsville, Texas, responded to a report of multiple drug smugglers walking towards the river levee. As agents arrived, they observed the subjects walking towards the ship channel. Upon detection, the smugglers dropped the bundles and ran south towards the Rio Grande. Agents searched the immediate area and discovered 252 pounds of marijuana worth more than $201K. Agents conducted an intensive search of the area for the smugglers to no avail.
That same day, Falfurrias agents working at the checkpoint referred a Pontiac sedan for secondary inspection following a K-9 alert. At secondary, an inspection of the vehicle led to the discovery of more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine worth more than $700K. Agents arrested the driver and escorted him to the checkpoint for processing. Border Patrol turned the case over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Shortly thereafter, Brownsville agents on patrol observed several shoe prints on the river road. As agents followed the prints north on a brush trail, they received information of four subjects running north in an area well known for drug smuggling attempts. Additional agents responded to assist and while searching the dense brush, they located three smugglers and four bundles of marijuana weighing more than 150 pounds. The drugs have an estimated value of more than $120K. A search for the remaining smuggler yielded negative results.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.
