Texas Border Business
HIDALGO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo International Bridge intercepted $919,000 of alleged methamphetamine disguised as candy and hidden in canned food.
“These harmful narcotics will not make it to American streets thanks to our CBP officers who used their intuition and all our available tools and resources to stop this smuggling attempt,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.
On April 20, 2023, CBP officers assigned to the Hidalgo International Bridge encountered a white Mercedes transport van arriving from Mexico. A CBP officer referred the vehicle for further inspection which included utilizing non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment. Physical inspection of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of 110 packages of candy wrappers containing alleged crystal methamphetamine weighing a total of 13.40 pounds (6.08 kg). Also found were 12 containers of canned foods containing 89.02 pounds (40.38kg) of alleged liquid methamphetamine.
CBP OFO seized the narcotics and vehicle. Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiated a criminal investigation.
