U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized nearly $340,000 worth of fentanyl at the Hidalgo International Bridge on Wednesday, according to a news release from the federal agency.
CBP officers found 22 pounds of the deadly drug after referring a vehicle to an inspection using non-intrusive equipment, the release said.
After physically inspecting the vehicle, officers found nine packages hidden inside, the document said.
“Our CBP officers use all available tools and resources to identify and extract narcotics with caution,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said in the release. “It is vital to the safety of our officers that we be able to identify what type of narcotic we are dealing with, as a small amount of fentanyl can be fatal.”
The agents seized the narcotics and the vehicle. The case remains under investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations.
