CBP Officers at the Laredo Port of Entry Seize More Than $600K in Cocaine

LAREDO, TEXAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry recently seized over $600,000 in cocaine in one enforcement action. “This seizure demonstrates a great example of teamwork from our CBP officers,” said Port Director Albert Flores, Laredo Port of Entry. “Our CBP officers’ experience, hard work, perseverance and utilization of the canine and non-intrusive imaging system resulted in the interception of these hard narcotics.” The seizure occurred on Thursday, Aug. 16 at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge when a CBP officer referred a 2008 Honda Odyssey driven by a 36-year-old male Mexican citizen from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico for a secondary inspection. CBP officers utilizing a non-intrusive imaging system along with the help of a canine team discovered narcotics hidden within the vehicle. CBP officers discovered 33 packages containing a total of 79.32 pounds of alleged cocaine. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $611,660. CBP OFO seized the narcotics and the vehicle. The driver was arrested and the case was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.