Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol agents working with their K-9 partners continue to prove effective against hard narcotic smuggling attempts at the Rio Grande Valley checkpoints.
Yesterday morning, agents at the Javier Vega, Jr. Border Patrol Checkpoint referred a passenger car to the secondary inspection area due to a K-9 alert. During the secondary inspection, Agents located several bundles of methamphetamine inside the gas tank. The bundles weighed nearly 20 pounds, with an estimated street value of $632K. Agents arrested the 17 year-old driver and turned the case over to the Kenedy County Sheriff’s Office for prosecution.
Later that day, agents working at the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint referred a tractor-trailer to the secondary inspection area after a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the tractor. During the secondary inspection, agents discovered liquid methamphetamine inside one of the tractor’s gas tanks. Agents arrested the driver and notified the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the discovery. Agents requested a hazardous material team to extract the dangerous drug.
That same afternoon, Falfurrias Checkpoint agents sent another tractor-trailer to the secondary inspection area after a Border Patrol K-9 alerted. During the investigation, agents located over 60 bundles of methamphetamine weighing more than 180 pounds and worth an estimated $4.5M. Border Patrol turned the case over to DEA for federal prosecution.
Similarly this morning, Falfurrias Checkpoint agents referred a Ford F250 to the secondary inspection area after a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the vehicle. During the inspection, agents located more than 50 bundles of cocaine. The narcotics weighed over 130 pounds and are worth an estimated $4.4M. Agents arrested the driver and have referred the case to DEA.
The Rio Grande Valley Sector currently has multiple campaigns focused on rescues and danger awareness, such as “Operation Big Rig” and “No Se Arriesgue” to combat smuggling and ultimately save lives. Call 911 to report suspicious activity; “They’re humans, not cargo!”
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.
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.
