Agents Net Nearly 3,000 Pounds of Dope in Past 2 Days

Edinburg, Texas ─ Nearly $2.4 million worth of marijuana was confiscated by U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector in three separate seizures over the past two days.

The largest of the seizures occurred Wednesday, when agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station spotted a Chevrolet Tahoe traveling south on Midway Road toward the Rio Grande. When the vehicle arrived at the river’s edge, the agents witnessed several people load the Tahoe with bundles. Once loaded, the vehicle sped north with its headlights turned off.

After disabling the vehicle with a tire deflation device, the agents discovered 40 bundles of marijuana, weighing a total of 1,055 pounds, inside the vehicle.

In another incident Wednesday, agents assigned to the McAllen Station netted 1,051 pounds of marijuana after observing three people in a motorized boat in the floodwaters near Havana, Texas. The agents requested assistance from a Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine helicopter. While flying over the personnel onboard the helicopter saw bundles of what appeared to be illegal contraband floating in the water. The Palmview Fire Department provided a row boat to agents so the could retrieve four large bundles of marijuana worth more than $840,000.

McAllen Station agents also made a sizable seizure Tuesday when they found foot sign crossing Military Highway leading north toward Peñitas. The agents followed the foot sign and came upon 84 bundles of marijuana, with a total weight of 845 pounds, strewn along the trail and throughout the surrounding area.

The narcotics from the three seizures had a total weight of nearly 3,000 pounds and were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.

To report suspicious activity, contact the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector’s toll-free telephone number at 1-800-863-9382.