CPB Border Patrol Agents Seize More Than 2,042 Pounds of Marijuana

(Monday, December 18, 2006)

Fort Hancock, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents in the El Paso Sector seized more than a ton of marijuana over the weekend, including 1,003 pounds in Fort Hancock, Texas that was found in a pickup on Saturday.

At 5:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon, Border Patrol agents working east of Fort Hancock became aware of a vehicle that entered illegally into the United States. When agents responded to the area, they encountered a Ford pickup with New Mexico license plates traveling westbound on Highway Texas 20. A check on the plates revealed the vehicle had been stolen from Albuquerque. When agents attempted to pull the vehicle over, the vehicle fled westbound into Tornillo, Texas. The vehicle continued its flight onto a dirt road where the driver stopped and fled on foot. A Texas National Guard solider at an Entry Identification Team site utilizing infrared camera technology observed the general location where the subject fled and communicated the subject’s position to Border Patrol. Using a CBP canine, agents located the individual, a 25- year old male from Mexico, and placed him under arrest. The abandoned truck contained 1,003 pounds of marijuana, valued at $802,728.