U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Del Rio Port of Entry discovered a stash of methamphetamine hidden in a vehicle by an alleged smuggler hoping to make it into the United States from Mexico on September 28. The meth smuggling scheme unraveled when CBP officers conducted a more intensive inspection after the smuggler arrived at the port of entry.
The incident occurred shortly after a man driving a 2018 Ford Transit van presented himself for inspection at the Del Rio International Bridge import facility. Officers conducting a primary inspection of the driver and vehicle referred the conveyance to a secondary inspection area for a more thorough search.
Using non-intrusive technology, officers scanned the vehicle and noticed an anomaly in the driver’s side quarter panel of the cargo van. Upon further inspection, CBP officers located 81 packages of a substance believed to be methamphetamine hidden within the quarter panel. The contraband was removed and weighed. According to CBP, the packages weigh 64.73 pounds and cumulatively have an estimated street value of $595,185.
CBP determined the unidentified driver, a 59-year-old man, was a lawful permanent resident alien. CBP seized the contraband and is holding it as evidence in the driver’s prosecution. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assumed custody of the man and is continuing to investigate the case.
Del Rio Port Director Liliana Flores commented on the latest methamphetamine seizure, saying, “Stopping hard narcotics at our ports of entry is a top priority, and this seizure highlights the exceptional work being done by our officers every single day. This successful methamphetamine interception proves that our layered enforcement strategy is working precisely as intended to safeguard our nation.”
According to CBP, 146,000 pounds of methamphetamine have been seized by the agency in nearly 3,000 separate enforcement events since October. Most of those seizures occurred during smuggling interdiction events carried out by Customs and Border Protection officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents along the southwest border with Mexico.
The CBP Laredo Field Office, the regional territory of ports of entry that the Del Rio Port of Entry is a part of, is responsible for nearly 30 percent of all methamphetamine seizures along the southwest border since October. The seizures in some cases can total several million dollars in street value and constitute a major blow to cartels hoping to move the contraband to distributors in major cities within the United States. As reported by Breitbart Texas, in August, CBP officers in Laredo, Texas seized more than $2.5 million in a single methamphetamine smuggling event.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.