CBP Officers Seize $4.7 Million in Cocaine, Arrest Two at Laredo, Texas Entry

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Laredo, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Laredo, Texas port of entry seized 148 pounds of cocaine valued at $4.7 million dollars and arrested two men in two separate incidents over the weekend.

Friday at approximately 10 p.m. CBP officers at the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge referred a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 pick-up truck, driven by Javier Armando Salinas, a 35-year-old U.S. citizen from Laredo, Texas for a secondary examination. A scan of the truck revealed anomalies within the toolbox behind the cab of the pickup.

CBP canine "Tramp" alerted to the odor of narcotics emanating from the same location. Upon further examination of the truck and a closer visual inspection of the vehicle’s toolbox, CBP officers discovered clear plastic-wrapped bundles underneath a sheet of metal. A total of 25 bundles containing 56 pounds of cocaine were removed along with one bundle of crystal methamphetamine weighing 2 pounds from the compartment.

The cocaine has a street value of $1,792,000 and the crystal methamphetamine is valued at $30,000. CBP officers arrested the driver on federal drug violations and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents who investigated the seizure. The truck also was seized.