Agents Seize Nearly 4 Tons of Marijuana in 48 Hours

Edinburg, Texas - In a 48-hour time period, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley sector seized more than 7,800 pounds of marijuana.

Agents seized more than 450 pounds of marijuana from a Chevrolet Monte Carlo after the vehicles driver lost control and crashed into a washout .

The largest of the seizures occurred Thursday morning when agents assigned to the Rio Grande City station were responding to possible illegal activity near the Rio Grande in Fronton, Texas.

As agents approached the area they encountered an abandoned Ford pickup that had struck a stop sign. In the bed of the pickup they found more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana, with a value of nearly $970,000.

Later that evening, agents assigned to the McAllen station saw a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo being driven south toward the river near Peñitas, Texas. A short time later the same vehicle was seen traveling eastbound on

Military Highway

near Abram. When the driver of the Monte Carlo noticed the agents, he attempted to head back south but lost control and rolled it over into a washout near the river.

The driver fled the scene but was later apprehended with the help of a boat and helicopter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter and a Border Patrol K-9 team.

Inside the vehicle agents found more than 450 pounds of marijuana valued at over $360,000.

Overall the marijuana seized Wednesday and Thursday throughout the Rio Grande Valley sector has a value of more than $6.2 million and was turned over to various agencies for further investigation.

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.