SEATTLE - As the largest law enforcement agency in the United States, U.S. Custom and Border Protection officers are always quite busy when it comes to safeguarding communities from exposure to drugs and other dangers.
In the last two fiscal years, CBP officers have seized nearly 50,000 pounds of fentanyl, enough to produce more than 2 billion lethal doses of the synthetic drug. Although fentanyl has been a priority for Border Patrol officers in recent times, CBP revealed that in the month of October, seizures for other drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana increased 27% compared to the month of September.
Cocaine seizures increased 15% from September to October, and so far this month CBP has added more important seizures to the yearly total.
As per Border Report, Office of Field Operations officers at the Hidalgo International Bridge, one of the ports of entry that connects the cities of McAllen and Reynosa, made three separate seizures in recent days involving drugs, weapons and ammunition worth more than a whopping $1.4 million
On Nov. 15, CBP officers at the Hidalgo International Bridge encountered a silvern SUV making entry from Mexico. An officer selected the vehicle for inspection, which included the use of non-intrusive inspection equipment as well as screening by a canine team.
After a closely physical inspection of the vehicle, officers extracted a total of 12 packages of alleged cocaine weighing almost 28 pounds (12.60 kg). The drugs were concealed within the vehicle and had an estimated street value of $370,893.
Just a few hours later, officers conducting outbound enforcement operations at the Anzalduas International Bridge, a port of entry on the Mexican side of the border, encountered a suspicious Chevrolet pick-up truck and selected it for inspection.
After officers physically inspected the vehicle, they found four handguns, 1,070 rounds of ammunition in various calibers, six weapon magazines and 21 weapon components that were on their way to Mexico.
And just a couple of days later, on Nov. 17, CBP officers at the Hidalgo port of entry made yet another seizure as a Mazda SUV tried to enter the U.S. After conducting another inspection using non-intrusive equipment, officers found a total of 30 packages of alleged cocaine concealed within the vehicle and arrested the driver.
According to officers, the cocaine intercepted weighted a little over 77 pounds with an estimated street value of $1,032,614.
"Our CBP officers don't skip a beat when it comes to keeping our country safe. These back-to-back interceptions of weapons, ammunition, and narcotics illustrate the tireless work being done at our port of entry," Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry Director Carlos Rodriguez said.
According to CBP data, Fiscal Year 2025 started off strong for Office of Field Operations officers along the U.S.-Mexico border. During the month of October, CBP seized nearly 20,500 pounds of illicit drugs only in the Southwest border region.
Out of the more than 20,000 pounds of drugs seized by law enforcement, cocaine represented 22% of the total drugs intercepted by agents (4,475 pounds) during the month of October.
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