Eagle Pass CBP Officers Seize Over $1 million Worth of Hard Narcotics, Halt Human Smuggling Attempt at Port

EAGLE PASS, Texas – On Aug. 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were active in halting a human smuggling attempt of a minor and seized more than 70 pounds of hard narcotics, in two separate enforcement actions at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry.

“This interception of dangerous drugs and human smuggling of a child exemplifies the teamwork of our officers working at our port,” said Port Director John Brandt, Eagle Pass Port of Entry. “Our officers employed a combination of observational skills and high tech tools to uncover this load and preventing it from going any further and halt these types of human smuggling attempts, all in a day’s work.”

At about 5:03 p.m., CBP officers at the Eagle Pass International Bridge inspected a 2008 Dodge Nitro, driven by a United States citizen woman, as it arrived from Mexico. A minor was a passenger in the vehicle, presented a U.S. birth certificate to the officers. Upon questioning, CBP officers learned that the minor was a Mexican citizen without legal documents to enter the U.S. and the woman allegedly provided the U.S. birth certificate to smuggle him into the U.S. illegally.

The 37-year-old woman, from Houston, will appear before a U.S. magistrate for alleged violation of immigration law.

At approximately 7:35 p.m., CBP at the Eagle Pass International Bridge inspected a 2006 Ford F-150 truck as it arrived in the United States from Mexico. Officers noticed anomalies in the bed liner area and utilized a K-9 and a non-intrusive imaging system for inspection, 30 packages of alleged crystal methamphetamine were retrieved within the bed liner of the vehicle. Officers seized a total of 70.60 pounds of alleged crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $1,411,825.84.

CBP officers seized the vehicle and narcotics. The driver, a 42-year-old man from San Antonio, was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations special agents for further investigation.

The Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within U.S. Customs and Border Protection tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation’s food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.