Hidalgo, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations at the Hidalgo/Reynosa
International Bridge seized over 40 pounds of methamphetamine, arrested a child
smuggler, arrested two imposters and also arrested five individuals wanted on
state/local arrest warrants this weekend.
On May 5, 2012 a gold 2001 Honda Odyssey
driven by a 54-year-old male Mexican national arrived at the Hidalgo
International Bridge and the driver presented his legal permanent resident card
to the CBP officer. The vehicle and occupant were referred to secondary for a
more thorough examination and it was there that officers discovered 23 packages
of alleged methamphetamine weighing approximately 18.72 kilograms (41.27
pounds) which was hidden within the vehicle. CBP seized the narcotics and the
vehicle as well.
The male traveler was released to the
custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security
Investigations (ICE-HSI) for further investigation.
Also on May 5, 2012 at the Hidalgo
International Bridge CBP officers encountered two adult male travelers at the
pedestrian crossing who presented Mexican border crossing cards. Both travelers
were referred to secondary for further document review and through the use of
database checks, it was revealed that the documents presented were legitimate
documents that belonged to someone else. CBP officers discovered that the two
travelers were citizens and nationals from Guatemala without legal documents to
enter or reside in the United States.
On May 6, 2012 CBP officers working at
the Pharr/Reynosa International Bridge encountered a 32-year-old female United
States citizen from Hidalgo, Texas and two minor male children in a green 1997
Chevrolet Cavalier. The adult female traveler presented a U.S. passport card
for herself and State of Texas birth certificates for the two boys. The vehicle
and occupants were referred to secondary for further inspection and document
review. In secondary CBP officers discovered that only one of the boys was
related to the adult female and was a U.S. citizen, the other boy was found to
be a Guatemalan national without documents to enter or reside in the United
States.
The adult female traveler and two males
were incarcerated pending appearance before a U.S. Federal Magistrate on
criminal charges for violation of U.S. immigration law. The United States
citizen child was released to an adult family member who arrived to take
custody and the Guatemalan boy was released to a U.S. Health and Human
Services-Office of Refugee Resettlement facility where he will be temporarily
housed.
Lastly, CBP officers at the
Hidalgo/Pharr International Bridges arrested five individuals wanted on
state/local arrest warrants this weekend. The arrest warrants ranged from
probation violations, failure to appear, driving while intoxicated (DWI), to
juveniles reported missing. All individuals were subsequently released to the
custody of either the Hidalgo or Pharr Police Departments for further investigation.
‘This was a busy weekend for our
officers in Hidalgo and Pharr”, said Efrain Solis Jr., Port Director,
Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas, “but through their excellent commitment and diligence,
this load of hard narcotics and the child smuggler were intercepted. Our
ability to check everyone attempting to cross the border through our databases
allows us to detect those who present someone else’s documents and those wanted
on arrest warrants thus keeping our country 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 official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and
terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
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