Eagle Pass CBP Officers Seize Cocaine, Meth

EAGLE PASS, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Eagle Pass arrested Piedras Negras man Friday after finding more than $600,000 worth of narcotics hidden in the car he was driving.

“Our CBP officers are the first line of defense against illicit narcotics entering the country,” said Cynthia O. Rodriguez, CBP Port Director, Eagle Pass. “Their training and experience are invaluable in detecting contraband in any form.”

CBP officers at the Camino Real International Bridge inspected a 1999 Volkswagen Beetle as it arrived in the United States from Mexico around 1 p.m. Friday. During inspection, officers observed several packages wrapped in black electrical tape in the dash area. A canine sweep of the vehicle and a scan with a non-intrusive imaging system revealed a total of nine such packages hidden in the dash. Eight of the packages were found to contain cocaine, weighing a total of 18.7 pounds, worth an estimated $598,400. The remaining package contained methamphetamine weighing 1.45 pounds, valued at $21,750.

The driver, an 18-year-old Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico man, was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for federal prosecution.

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.