CBP Officers at Laredo Port of Entry Seize $2.6 Million in Heroin and Meth This Weekend

Laredo, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Laredo port of entry this weekend kept their vigilance amid heavy traffic and seized heroin and methamphetamine valued at $2.6 million in two separate, unrelated enforcement actions.

click for hi-res These eight bundles contain 26 pounds of heroin seized by CBP officers at Lincoln-Juarez Bridge in Laredo, Texas.

The most recent seizure occurred on November 20 at the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge. A CBP officer referred a 2002 Honda CR-V carrying a 21-year-old female U.S. citizen driver and 23-year-old male U.S. citizen passenger, both from Chicago, Ill. for a secondary examination. In secondary, CBP officers conducted an intensive examination of the vehicle and discovered packages hidden within the vehicle containing a total of 26 pounds of alleged heroin. The heroin has an estimated street value of $2.6 million.

The other seizure occurred on November 19 at the same bridge. A CBP officer referred a 2001 MCI bus driven by a 39-year-old Mexican citizen from Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico for a secondary examination. During an examination of the driver’s luggage, CBP officers discovered two packages containing 2.75 pounds of alleged methamphetamine. The methamphetamine has an estimated street value of $41,250. 

CBP officers turned the driver and passenger of the Honda CR-V and the driver of the MCI bus over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents for further investigation. Both vehicles and the contraband were seized.

“Our CBP officers faced heavy traffic due to a Mexican holiday and the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday week. Nevertheless, those frontline officers applied their experience and training and the end result was two significant seizures of hard narcotics,” said Sidney Aki, CBP port director, Laredo. “The heroin seizure was particularly notable for the size and street value of the alleged narcotics.”