Eagle Pass CBP Officers Seize Cocaine, Heroin Worth $1.1 Million

EAGLE PASS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry intercepted narcotics shipments worth more than $1 million recently, in two unrelated incidents.

“These seizures are two fine examples of CBP officers’ training and experience keeping drug loads from entering the country,” said John Brandt, CBP Acting Port Director, Eagle Pass. “Our officers employed a combination of observational skills and high-tech tools to uncover these loads and prevent them from going any farther.”

The first incident occurred around 2:40 p.m. June 18, at Eagle Pass International Bridge II, when, CBP officers inspected a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck as it arrived in the United States from Mexico. During inspection, officers discovered 10 packages of cocaine hidden in the vehicle dash panel. Officers seized a total of 25.65 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $198,220.

The driver, a 41-year-old man from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for federal prosecution.

In an unrelated incident the following day, CBP officers at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry seized more than 50 pounds of narcotics.

The second incident occurred about around 3:20 p.m., June 19, when CBP officers at Eagle Pass International Bridge I inspected a 2015 Chevrolet Cruze as it arrived in the United States from Mexico. Upon inspection, officers found 29 packages of narcotics hidden in a body panel of the vehicle. Officers recovered a total of 11 packages of cocaine weighing 25.82 pounds, and 18 packages of brown heroin weighing 31.32 pounds – with a total estimated value of $911,580.

The driver, a 30-year-old man, and passenger, a 28-year-old woman, both from Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for federal prosecution.