Texas CBP Officers Seize Nearly $237,000 in Cocaine

Brownsville, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Gateway International Bridge over the weekend discovered cocaine valued at approximately $236,800 concealed within a Nissan Sentra.

On April 23, at Gateway International Bridge, a primary CBP officer encountered a 1988 Nissan Sentra driven by a 57-year-old male Mexico citizen residing in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The primary CBP officer referred the Nissan for a secondary examination. In secondary, CBP officers discovered three packages hidden within the vehicle.

CBP officers removed the packages, which had a combined total weight of 3.34 kilograms or 7.4 pounds of alleged cocaine.

The alleged cocaine from this seizure has an estimated street value of approximately $236,800. CBP officers turned the driver over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations special agents for further investigation. CBP officers seized the narcotics and the vehicle.

“CBP officers’ observational skills were instrumental in the interception of these dangerous narcotics. The streets of our communities are safer as a result of the work our CBP officers do on a daily basis,” said Michael Freeman, CBP port director, Brownsville.

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.