May 30 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Texas made major drug busts over the past week.
CBP officers at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo earlier this week seized a shipment of more than $370,000 worth of cocaine, just days after officers at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry seized a shipment worth over $214,000.
The first seizure occurred May 25 at the Eagle Pass International Bridge, when a CBP officer stopped a 43-year-old male Mexican citizen driving a 2012 Buick Enclave and referred the vehicle for a secondary inspection, according to a CBP release.
Inspectors using drug-sniffing canines discovered seven packages totaling more than 16 pounds of presumed cocaine in the rear quarter panels of the vehicle. The drugs had an estimated street value of $214,294.
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“Securing the passenger environment is a critical mission for CBP, and this cocaine seizure underscores the need for our officers to stay ever-vigilant and aware of the narcotics threat while facilitating lawful travel,” Eagle Pass Port Director Pete Beattie said in a statement.
Three days later, officers at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge stopped a 2010 BMW driven by a female 45-year-old U.S. citizen and referred the vehicle for secondary inspection.
Officers conducting the inspection found 16 packages totaling nearly 28 pounds of narcotics in the vehicle. The packages carried an estimated street value of $370,893.
“Our officers in the passenger vehicle environment continue to exercise great vigilance and their determination and effective use of technology and canines helped zero-in on this cocaine load,” Laredo Port Director Albert Flores said in a statement. “These kinds of seizures illustrate CBP’s commitment to advancing its priority border security mission.”
In both cases, CBP seized the cocaine and the vehicles. Homeland Security agents arrested both drivers and opened criminal investigations.
The large-scale drug busts come after CBP officials at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry made “the largest ever” seizure in February.
CBP officers at that time seized nearly 13,101 pounds of alleged methamphetamine from a tractor trailer at the Camino Real International Bridge.
The agency said the drugs had a street value of about $117.1 million and that it was the largest ever single seizure at a CBP port of entry.
CBP in April launched “Operation Plaza Strike,” an offensive targeting Mexican drug cartels bringing fentanyl and the ingredients used to make it into the United States.
While not the most common drug to enter the United States through Mexico, fentanyl is the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 and 45 and accounted for more than 107,000 overdose deaths during the past year.
CBP officers working the U.S.-Mexico border last year seized over 27,000 pounds of cocaine, according to agency statistics. Meth was the most frequent drug seized on the southwest border, with 121,000 pounds apprehended in 2023.