EL PASO, Texas — U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a combined 78 pounds of hard drugs at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, TX on two unrelated incidents.
The first incident occurred on July 20 at the Paso Del Norte border crossing when a CBP officer with his canine partner conducted an inspection on a 27-year-old male U.S. citizen arriving from Mexico.
The canine alerted the officer and then upon further investigation officers discovered 68.21 pounds of methamphetamine in the vehicle.
The second incident occurred on July 21 at the Bridge of the Americas border crossing when CBP officers conducting pre-inspections encountered a 19-year-old male U.S. citizen arriving from Mexico.
Once the CBP officers and a CBP canine searched the vehicle, packages were discovered containing 10 pounds of cocaine.
"The drug smuggling threat is consistent, but CBP officers are continually stepping up and stopping these significant drug loads," said CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio. "Drug interdiction is an important part of our homeland security mission."
The subjects that were arrested by CBP officers were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations or local authorities for prosecution.
