SEATTLE - U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents had a busy start to the month in September after a van carrying more than $700,000 in narcotics was intercepted and seized at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry, in Texas.
Concretely, agents at the Camino Real International Bridge referred a 2006 Chevrolet Express van for secondary inspection after it crossed from the border city of Piedras Negras, Mexico.
The old van was put through non-intrusive inspection equipment, which can see through the floorboards and into hidden compartments of vehicles. Upon further physical examination, CBP officers discovered 31 packages containing a total of 69.3 pounds of alleged methamphetamine and one package containing 2.6 pounds of alleged heroin within the walls of three food ovens that were located on the roof rack of the van.
The narcotics seized by CBP officers had an estimated street value of $701,701. Homeland Security Investigations special agents are investigating the seizure.
"Our frontline officers continue to maintain resolute vigilance and that dedication to the mission coupled with an effective use of technology resulted in the interception of a significant amount of narcotics," Eagle Pass Port Director Pete Beattie said in a statement.
Just last month, CBP officers in the San Diego Sector seized more than 80 pounds of cocaine hidden inside a SUV that was crossing through the Newton-Azrak Border Patrol Station on Interstate 15 in the city of Temecula, California. A patrol canine team conducted an air sniff of the vehicle, and further inspection revealed what appeared to be cellophane wrapped packages containing 31 packages of narcotics.
According to data from CBP, the U.S. has seen a significant increase in methamphetamine seizures so far this year. As of Aug. 28, over 132,000 pounds of meth have been seized by agents along the Southwest border, which has already surpassed the total amount confiscated in 2023 by over 12,000 pounds.
Back in July, officers at Eagle Pass discovered another vehicle carrying methamphetamines, fentanyl and heroin worth over $500,000. Agents confiscated 44.59 pounds of narcotics, with 33 pounds of the total being methamphetamines.
But the biggest seizure seen so far this year happened in February, as CBP officers confiscated over six tons of meth from a truck trying to cross into Eagle Pass. The drugs, valued at $117 million, is the single-largest haul of the drug ever seized at a U.S. port of entry.
"This gargantuan methamphetamine seizure, the largest ever taken down by CBP officers at a port of entry, uniquely illustrates the serious narcotics threat our officers face on a daily basis and their effectiveness at utilizing our technological enforcement tools, expertise and experience to zero-in on these threats," Laredo CBP director of field operations Donald Kusser said in a statement.
Including all narcotics, CBP officers have seized a total of 228,532 pounds of narcotics along the Southwest border so far this Fiscal Year.
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