Staff Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Progreso Port of Entry seized narcotics valued at over $1 million in three separate, unrelated enforcement actions at the bridge.
The first seizure occurred on Nov. 6 when CBP officers assigned to Progreso International Bridge encountered a 40-year-old male Mexican citizen driving a 2007 Ford F-150 truck.
The driver and vehicle were referred to secondary for an in-depth inspection. An inspection utilizing a non-intrusive imaging system resulted in the discovery of 43 packages containing 318.35 pounds of alleged marijuana discovered within the vehicle. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $63,668.
Later that evening, CBP officers referred a 2013 Chrysler 300 driven by a 32-year-old female U.S. citizen for a secondary inspection. Following an x-ray inspection, CBP officers discovered a total of 25 packages containing 18.83 pounds of alleged heroin and 41.22 pounds of alleged cocaine within the vehicle. The narcotics have a combined estimated street value of $831,320.
The third seizure took place on Nov. 8 when CBP officers referred a 2001 Toyota Tacoma driven by a 50-year-old female U.S. citizen for a secondary inspection. CBP officers examined the vehicle utilizing a non-intrusive imaging system, resulting in the discovery of six packages containing 14.45 pounds of alleged heroin concealed within the vehicle. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $393,600. The narcotics combined have an estimated street value of $1,288,588.
“Illicit drug traffickers are relentless in their pursuits to smuggle narcotics through our ports of entry and onto the streets of our communities,” said Port Director Walter Weaver, Progreso Port of Entry. Despite this trying and ongoing pandemic, our frontline CBP officers remain vigilant, using their training and experience coupled with our high-tech tools leading to the three separate seizures of narcotics.”
CBP officers seized the narcotics. All three drivers were arrested and the cases were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.
