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In a significant operation earlier this month, authorities intercepted over $1.3 million worth of methamphetamine and black tar heroin at the Los Indios International Bridge near Brownsville, Texas, as reported by federal officials.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at this entry point confiscated the illegal substances on October 6. The discovery occurred when a 37-year-old man from Mexico attempted to cross the border driving a 2001 Chevrolet.
During an initial examination, the vehicle was flagged for further scrutiny. Utilizing a combination of a trained drug-detection canine and advanced X-ray equipment, CBP officers uncovered concealed packages within the vehicle.
The officers extracted these packages, revealing approximately 67 pounds of methamphetamine and 42.5 pounds of black tar heroin. The street value of these drugs is estimated at over $1.3 million, according to officials.
Vehicles passing from the United States into Mexico in Brownsville, Texas, are subject to an array of sophisticated cameras and scanning devices. (Image Credit: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images)
Once the officers seized the drugs, they seized the vehicle and turned the driver, a Mexican national, over to agents with Homeland Security Investigations who initiated a criminal investigation.
“Our officers work with diligence as they perform their duties and their efforts led to this significant drug seizure, keeping the dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities,” Brownsville port of entry director Tater Ortiz said.
CBP officers discovered over $1 million in suspected heroin and methamphetamine during a secondary inspection at a border crossing in Brownsville, Texas, on Oct. 6. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
The bust comes as the Trump administration bolsters efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military carried out another strike on a suspected drug vessel off the coast of Venezuela, killing six suspected smugglers.
The U.S. killed six alleged drug traffickers on a boat in international waters near Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday. (realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)
Trump said on Truth Social that intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics and was associated with illicit “narcoterrorist networks.”
The White House sent lawmakers a memo on Sept. 30, informing them that the U.S. is participating in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug smugglers. The most recent strike on a narcotics vessel comes on the heels of four other fatal strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean since September.
The border seizure adds to a growing list of federal actions targeting international smuggling networks.