Officers in Texas Make 10 Drug Busts in One Day, Violators Include 62-Year-Old Man and a Family

Thursday, February 21, 2008

El Paso, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at ports of entry in El Paso and Fabens were busy stopping numerous drug loads while performing anti-terror inspections Wednesday. Area CBP officers seized 833 pounds of marijuana in nine busts and 20.8 pounds of cocaine in one seizure.

The cocaine seizure was made at approximately 10 a.m. the Ysleta port of entry.

CBP officers were performing a sweep of vehicles waiting in line at the port of entry when CBP drug sniffing dog “Rita” alerted to a 1992 Ford Aerostar van. CBP officers also noticed that the driver of the van was nervous.

CBP officers moved the van to a secondary inspection area and while searching the vehicle, detected a non-factory compartment attached to a transmission transfer case on the vehicle’s underside. CBP officers drilled into the compartment, producing a white substance that tested positive for cocaine. CBP officer removed the transfer case to gain access to the compartment where they discovered eight cocaine filled bundles. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents arrested the driver of the van. He is identified as 62-year-old Ignacio Holguin Garcia of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

In another unusual case from Wednesday, CBP officers seized 208 pounds of marijuana from a man who was traveling with his girlfriend and their two preschool age children. The large marijuana seizure was made at approximately 2:30 p.m. at the Ysleta port of entry when a 2002 GMC Denali entered the port from Mexico. CBP officers were performing a sweep of vehicles waiting in line when CBP drug sniffing "Darko" alerted to the vehicle.

CBP officers removed the occupants of the vehicle and initiated a search in the secondary inspection area. During their inspection, CBP officer found drugs concealed in a non-factory compartment in the floor of the SUV as well as in the front fenders. CBP officers removed a total of 199 marijuana-filled bundles from the vehicle. ICE special agents arrested the drive of the vehicle, 21-year-old Manuel Banuelos-Martinez of Booker, Texas. The female and two young children were released.