Del Rio, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol Agents from Del Rio Sector made two marijuana seizures Wednesday totaling more than 325 pounds, with an estimated street value of $260,000.
A service canine alerted agents to the presence of marijuana in the vehicle.
U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered 18 pounds of marijuana hidden in the engine compartment of a vehicle driven by a Uvalde man.
Around 7 p.m., at the immigration checkpoint on Highway 57, agents from the Eagle Pass South Border Patrol Station discovered nine packages of marijuana in a 1999 Dodge Durango driven by a man from Uvalde. The contraband was found in the wheel well and engine compartment after a canine alerted to the side of the truck. The driver, who was recently released from Texas Department of Corrections, was arrested and turned over to the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office, along with the marijuana, which had a total weight of 18 pounds and an estimated value of nearly $15,000.
At approximately 10:15 p.m., agents from the Del Rio Border Patrol Station arrested four Mexican Nationals and seized four bundles of marijuana weighing more than 300 pounds. Agents had observed the four subjects carrying the contraband away from the Rio Grande River around a half hour earlier. A canine tracking team was deployed and agents apprehended the individuals a short time later. The bundles contained a total of 144 bricks of marijuana with an estimated value of $246,000.
The subjects and marijuana were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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.
