Agents at the border seized over $60 million in meth in two separate smuggling attempts
LAREDO - Border Patrol agents working at our border seized over $60 million worth of alleged methamphetamine in two separate smuggling attempts that took place one day apart.
“The trafficking and production of methamphetamine has increased substantially over the past year, causing drug traffickers to become more creative in their methods of smuggling their product into America,” said Acting Port Director Andrew Douglas, Laredo Port of Entry.
The first attempt took place on October 27 at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge. Agents working in the cargo facility came across a 2006 Freightliner tractor hauling an empty trailer from Mexico. They were suspicious, so they sent it for a closer look using a non-intrusive imaging system and canines.
618 packages containing 1988.12 pounds of alleged methamphetamine were found hidden in the trailer. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $39,762,165.
The second attempt was one day later on October 28 at the World Trade Bridge also at the cargo facility.
This time the agents sent a 1999 Freightliner tractor hauling a shipment of frozen vegetables from Mexico for a closer inspection.
The canines alerted the agents to 352 packages containing 1049.84 pounds of alleged methamphetamine hidden in with the frozen vegetables. Non-intrusive imaging confirmed their suspicions. This second smuggling attempt of narcotics has an estimated street value of $20,996,610.
The combined value of the two smuggling attempts has an estimated street value of $60,758,775.
CBP officers seized the narcotics and both trailers and the cases were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation.
