Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – In less than five hours, Rio Grande City agents seized more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in two separate incidents.
Sunday night, agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station responded to suspected illegal activity near Escobares, Texas. As agents arrived to the area, they observed multiple subjects abandon a Chevrolet Malibu and run towards the Rio Grande. A search of the vehicle revealed more than more than 250 pounds of marijuana worth more than $202K. Agents searched the area but did not locate any of the smugglers.
This morning, agents working in Salineno, Texas, witnessed a white Chevrolet Suburban drive south towards the Rio Grande. As the vehicle parked near the riverbank, multiple people emerged from the brush and proceeded to load bundles of suspected narcotics into the suburban. As agents approached to arrest them, the smugglers jumped into the river and returned to Mexico. A search of the vehicle revealed 750 pounds of marijuana worth nearly $600K.
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.