U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations officers working at the Santa Teresa port of entry seized 9.5 pounds of heroin Thursday, concealed within the transfer case of a vehicle.
“Smugglers went to considerable lengths to conceal this drug load,” said Jesse Proctor, CBP Santa Teresa acting Port Director.
The layers of enforcement CBP employs helped our officers locate and stop this shipment.”
The seizure was made just after noon Thursday at the Santa Teresa port when a male Mexican citizen driving a 2005 Chevrolet 2500 pickup truck applied for entry at the primary inspection station.
The CBP primary officer referred the driver and vehicle to secondary for an intensive inspection.
A CBP drug sniffing dog alerted to the vehicle during a secondary exam.
CBP officers continued their inspection and noticed anomalies in the appearance of the vehicle.
CBP officers located nine black packages concealed within the transfer case of the truck. The contents of the packages tested positive for heroin.
CBP officers took custody of the 28-year-old man and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is investigating the case
The seizure was one of six made by CBP officers working at El Paso area ports of entry on Thursday.
They also seized 395 pounds of marijuana in five additional busts.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.
