CBP Officers Intercept Hard Narcotics Worth Over $844K at the World Trade Bridge

LAREDO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at the World Trade Bridge seized hard narcotics with a street value of over $844,000 in two separate enforcement actions.

“Even though anti-terrorism is our primary mission, CBP officers maintain their vigilance to ensure commercial entries are safe and free of contraband,” said Acting Port Director Andrew Douglas, Laredo Port of Entry.

The first enforcement action occurred on Thursday, July 30th at the World Trade Bridge when CBP officers assigned to the cargo facility encountered a tractor hauling a shipment of zinc sulfate arriving from Mexico.  The 2000 Freightliner tractor and shipment was referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 20 packages containing 51.8 pounds of alleged cocaine within the trailer. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $399,500.

Later that evening, CBP officers encountered an express consignment vehicle arriving from Mexico.  The 2013 Kenworth tractor and shipment was referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of one package containing 22.27 pounds of alleged methamphetamine discovered within an express consignment shipment. The contraband is worth $445,329 in street value.

Both seizures combined have an estimated street value of $844,829.

CBP officers seized one trailer and the total narcotics discovered. The cases was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.