Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety seized about 15 pounds of heroin from a vehicle in Starr County on Monday as part of Operation Lone Star.
According to a news release, just after 3 p.m. a state trooper attempted to make a traffic stop after a maroon Hyundai committed a traffic violation on U.S. 83 in Rio Grande City. The driver refused to stop, resulting in a pursuit, DPS stated.
The driver of the vehicle eventually came to a stop on Mi Ranchita Road and abandoned the vehicle and fled into a wooded area, according to DPS.
Inside the car, the trooper found two black bags that contained seven tape-wrapped bundles of heroin, which is estimated to have a street value of $350,000.
The driver of the vehicle has not been apprehended, and no arrests have been made.
The heroin seizure occurred a day after DPS and U.S. Border Patrol agents seized, in a separate incident but also part of Operation Lone Star, 683 pounds of marijuana in Starr County.
Troopers assisted Border Patrol agents who observed nine individuals smuggling suspected bundles of marijuana in a boat Sunday. The individuals were then observed loading the suspected drugs into a vehicle.
According to a news release, the group abandoned the vehicle and boat at the riverbank and attempted to flee back to Mexico.
DPS and Border Patrol seized eight large bundles of marijuana and apprehended one suspect, a Mexican national, who was taken into custody and charged with possession of marijuana.
The drugs are estimated to have a street value of $545,000.
