Eagle Pass, TX - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Eagle Pass port of entry recently seized 47 pounds of cocaine and 5,460 rounds of ammunition, in two separate incidents.
On November 6, a 25-year-old woman arrived at the Camino Real International Bridge driving a 2011 Chevrolet Colorado. After referring the vehicle for an intensive inspection, officers discovered 14 packages inside the spare tire and five packages hidden in the doors of the vehicle. The 19 packages, weighing a total of 47.7 pounds, tested positive for cocaine. The estimated value of the cocaine is $1,526,400.
On November 8, CBP officers inspecting traffic leaving the United States, bound for Mexico, with Border Patrol agents and Maverick County sheriff’s deputies working alongside them, encountered a 32-year-old Eagle Pass woman driving a 1993 Ford F-150 pickup truck. Close inspection of the pickup revealed 273 boxes of .223-caliber rifle ammunition – containing 20 rounds each. The woman’s three minor children were released to a relative.
CBP officers turned the drivers of both vehicles over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations special agents for further investigation.
“Our frontline CBP officers are committed to keeping narcotics from ending up in our communities,” said Cynthia O. Rodriguez, CBP Port Director, Eagle Pass. “Preventing the illegal exportation of firearms and ammunition is tantamount to keeping the border region safe.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
