CBP Field Operations Seizes Nearly $2 Million in Methamphetamine at Hidalgo and Pharr International Bridges

HIDALGO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo International Bridge had a busy weekend by seizing $1,896,340 worth of alleged methamphetamine in three separate, unrelated incidents.

“Our frontline officers’ resiliency and dedication to help keep dangerous drugs from crossing our international borders was once again demonstrated this weekend with the interception of these loads of hard narcotics,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/ Anzalduas.

On May 31, a CBP officer at the Pharr International Bridge referred a 2002 maroon GMC Yukon and its three occupants, two women ages 38 and 50, respectively, and a 28-year-old man, all United States citizens from San Antonio, Texas for further inspection. The secondary examination resulted in officers discovering two bundles of alleged methamphetamine weighing 11.07 pounds (5.02 kg) with a value of $221,340 hidden within the SUV’s battery.

The most significant seizure occurred on May 28 at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. A CBP officer referred a white Ford van driven by a 52-year-old man, a United States citizen from Irving, Texas for a secondary examination. Officers conducting the secondary inspection discovered 62 packages of alleged methamphetamine hidden within the van. The packages weighed 72.53 pounds (32.9 kg) and have a street value of $1,451,000.

Earlier in the week, at the same border crossing, a 27-year-old male U.S. citizen from McAllen, Texas driving a red Ford Fusion arrived from Mexico and was referred for a secondary inspection which resulted in the discovery of 11.20 pounds (5.08 kg) of alleged methamphetamine hidden within the car’s battery. The drugs are valued at $224,000.

CBP OFO seized all the narcotics and vehicles and arrested all the people involved in the failed drug smuggling attempts. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) took custody of the travelers and continue with the investigations.