HIDALGO, Texas — Border officers at the Hidalgo International Bridge seized nearly $6 million worth of narcotics in separate incidents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
The latest seizure happened Monday when border officers referred a Ford Explorer to a secondary inspection, during which time border officers found liquid methamphetamine in the gas tank. Border officers said the driver, a 24-year-old woman from Houston, had 127 pounds of the drug, which had an estimated street value of $2,535,000.
On Saturday evening, a 28-year-old woman from Mexico allegedly tried to smuggle 152 pounds of meth in a 2008 Toyota Corolla. A drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to 20 packages worth more than $3 million.
Early Saturday, border officers used a non-intrusive imaging system inspection and discovered 13 packages filled with cocaine hidden within a 2014 Ford Focus. Border officers said they found 32 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $250,000 and arrested the 24-year-old Mexican man who was driving.
“These were outstanding interceptions of hard narcotics that our frontline officers accomplished utilizing exceptional observational skills, all available tools and resources and above all, great teamwork,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said in a statement.
CBP seized all of the narcotics, the vehicles and turned the three people arrested to Homeland Security Investigations.
