ALABAMA - It has been a busy year for U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents in terms of drug seizures. So far this year, authorities have seen the single-largest haul of drugs ever seized at a U.S. port of entry when they confiscated over six tons of methamphetamine back in February. And just last month, CBP performed the largest fentanyl seizure in agency history, intercepting close to 4 million blue fentanyl pills.
As drug smuggling continues to happen on a daily basis across all ports of entry, and recent reports of cartels using children to smuggle drugs in Arizona, officials at the Eagle Pass location remain on high alert. Earlier this month, CBP officers in Eagle Pass confiscated over $700,000 in narcotics and more recently, they had back-to-back days with bundles of cocaine trying to be smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border.
On Sept. 21, Border Report said that a Mexican national was arrested for allegedly hiding $815,300 worth of cocaine in an SUV. The drugs, totaling 61 pounds, were seized at the Eagle Pass International Bridge that connects South Texas with Piedras Negras, Mexico.
The 24-year-old was arrested for driving the 2016 Ford Explorer, which according to CBP officers, contained 32 packages of drugs hidden within the vehicle.
That was the second major seizure of cocaine made by CBP officers made in two days at South Texas ports. On Sept. 20, a day prior to the Eagle Pass seizure, CBP officials at the Brownsville-Matamoros International Bridge intercepted a car that contained narcotics with a street value of $675,000.
The drugs were transported by a 21-year-old female U.S. citizen from Texas, and officials revealed that 50.6 pounds of cocaine were hidden inside her car.
"These kinds of seizures underscore the reality of the drug threat and the importance of CBP's border security mission," Eagle Pass CBP Port Director Pete Beattie said in a statement. "Our frontline CBP officers utilized an effective combination of inspection skill, training, experience and technology and seized a significant amount of cocaine," Beattie added.
According to the most recent data published by CBP, as of August, the agency had seized almost 500,000 pounds of drugs along the U.S. Southwest border. With September data still yet to be released, Fiscal Year 2024 has been a busier one than FY2023, Despite an increase in sanctions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against drug traffickers and cartels, cases remain on the rise.
Over the past two years, Treasury has sanctioned more than 350 targets for involvement in drug trafficking activities at all stages of the supply chain, from major cartel leaders to under-the-radar labs, transportation networks, and chemical suppliers.
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