Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than $366,000 worth of cocaine Friday while monitoring Texas‘s Veterans International Bridge.
CBP authorities were made aware of a suspicious vehicle, identified as a 2018 Nissan, driven by a 50-year-old male United States citizen attempting to enter the United States from Mexico, and they halted the vehicle for inspection, CBP stated in a Monday release.
“The vehicle was referred to CBP secondary for further examination after a primary inspection,” the release said. “While in the secondary inspection area, with the aid of a canine unit, CBP officers discovered 14 packages hidden within the vehicle. CBP officers removed the packages which contained a total of 27.42 pounds of alleged cocaine.”
Authorities estimated the total street value of the cocaine to be approximately $366,183.
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“Our officers use multiple enforcement tools to conduct their inspections and their efforts led to this significant narcotics interception,” Michael B. Reyes, port director at the Brownsville Port of Entry, said.
The driver and a passenger, whose immigration status has not been confirmed, were placed in the custody of Homeland Security Investigations, and the drugs were retained by CBP officers, according to the release.