Abandoned Vehicle Yields Over 1,000 Pounds of Marijuana

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

La Rosita, Texas — Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector seized over 1,000 pounds of marijuana in an abandoned vehicle. The value of the narcotics is close to $1 million.

The seizure occurred yesterday when Border Patrol Agents assigned o the Rio Grande City Border Patrol station received information about possible illegal activity in La Rosita, Texas; a small community located about 5 miles west of Rio Grande City, Texas. When agents arrived to the area, they discovered a brown Chevrolet Tahoe with its back doors opened with several bundles of marijuana inside. Members of the High Intensity Drug Traffic Area (HIDTA) Task Force arrived on scene shortly thereafter. One male subject, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody in relation to this incident. The total weight of the marijuana was 1,133 pounds with a value of $906,400.

The subject, marijuana, and vehicle were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further investigation.

Rio Grande Valley Sector has seized 71,939 pounds of marijuana for an estimated value of 57,551,200 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. (October 01, 2007 through December 31, 2007)