World Trade Bridge Officers Make $29 Million Drug Bust

LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers intercepted shipments containing methamphetamine with an estimated street value of more than $29.8 million in two enforcement actions at the World Trade Bridge.

“The scope of methamphetamine abuse in the U.S. is on the rise,” said Acting Port Director Andrew Douglas, Laredo Port of Entry. “Seizures like these underscore the importance that CBP officers play in achieving our overall national border security mission and protecting the public from illegal narcotics.”

The first enforcement action occurred on Friday, August 14th when CBP officers assigned to the World Trade Bridge intercepted a tractor manifesting an industrial mixing machine arriving from Mexico. The 2015 International tractor was referred for a canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 1211.13 pounds of alleged methamphetamine discovered within the shipment. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $24,222,381.

The second seizure occurred on Monday, August 17, 2020, when CBP officers examined a shipment of industrial machinery. The shipment was inspected utilizing a canine, followed by a non-intrusive imaging system inspection, resulting in the discovery of 398.77 pounds of alleged methamphetamine discovered within the machine. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $5,582,752.

The narcotics combined have an estimated street value of $29,805,133.

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