LAREDO, Texas — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than 8,090 pounds of methamphetamine valued at over $72.3 million in two separate enforcement actions at Laredo Field Office ports of entry on the same day, the agency announced.
The larger haul — 7,047.73 pounds of suspected methamphetamine with a street value of $63,002,534 — was discovered at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo after a CBP officer referred a 2011 Dodge Ram stake bed hauling a shipment manifested as polypropylene for secondary inspection. A canine and nonintrusive inspection system examination revealed the narcotics concealed within the commodity.
“These large-scale cargo methamphetamine seizures, both taken the same day at different ports of entry within the Laredo Field Office, underscore the serious drug threat our officers are facing as well as their resolve to stem the flow of this poison into the U.S.,” said Director of Field Operations Donald R. Kusser, Laredo Field Office. “Our frontline officers remain committed to carrying out our border security mission, as exemplified by these significant enforcement actions.”
The second seizure occurred at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility, where CBP officers encountered a tractor trailer traveling from Reynosa, Mexico. Nonintrusive inspection equipment revealed anomalies within the trailer, and a physical search resulted in the extraction of 193 packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing 1,042.78 pounds — 473 kilograms — with a street value of $9,321,884.
CBP seized the narcotics and the vehicles in both enforcement actions. Homeland Security Investigations special agents initiated criminal investigations into both seizures.
The operations were conducted under the administration of President Donald J. Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. HSI criminal investigations into both seizures are ongoing.