Customs and Border Protection officers have been busy lately, making an arrest for human trafficking and two for major drug smuggling attempts.
22 people found in sleeper berth
CBP officers and Laredo, Texas police stopped a tractor-trailer on Highway 35 on April 24.
When they did, the found 22 people inside the truck’s sleeper berth.
A statement from CBP said agents and Laredo police stopped a tractor-trailer on Highway 35 and discovered 22 illegal aliens packed inside the cab:
The driver, a U.S. citizen, is facing alien smuggling charges. CBP did not identify the driver.
In its social media post, the CBP said, “This is the grim reality of human smuggling—people crammed into unsafe spaces, with no regard for their safety. We continue to target, arrest, and prosecute human smugglers to the fullest extent of the law.”
$8.1 million in meth
Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility earlier this month intercepted $8.1 million in suspected methamphetamine concealed in a shipment manifested as tile.
A statement from the agency said on April 21, CBP officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility encountered a commercial tractor-trailer traveling from Reynosa, Mexico. The vehicle was referred to secondary inspection dock for further inspection utilizing nonintrusive inspection equipment and screening by canine team.
Physical inspection of the tile pallets revealed packages of white powder which tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine.
Officers extracted 200 packages with a combined weight of 908.30 lbs of suspected methamphetamine concealed within the pallets of tile. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $8,119,696.
CBP officers seized the narcotics and tractor trailer, and Homeland Security Investigation special agents have initiated a criminal investigation into the seizure.
$4.9 million in meth
Earlier this month, CBP officers at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility seized over 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $4,924,960, concealed within a cargo trailer. The shipment manifest had listed the commodity as corrugated cardboard boxes.
On April 14, CBP officers referred a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia tractor, its trailer, and the 31-year-old male Mexican citizen driver for secondary inspection.
A nonintrusive inspection revealed anomalies within the trailer’s front wall, and a CBP canine alerted officers to the same area. A physical inspection uncovered 300 packages containing a crystal-like substance wrapped in clear plastic. The packages tested positive for methamphetamine, totaling 3,078.10 pounds.
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