Weekend Seizures Net More Than $700,000 Worth of Marijuana

Monday, May 19, 2008

Del Rio, Texas – Enforcement activities by Border Patrol agents assigned to the Del Rio sector resulted in the seizure of 915 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated value of $732,624, this past weekend.

On Friday evening, agents from the Eagle Pass South Station found a large stash of marijuana hidden in a 1998 Freightliner tractor-trailer. The discovery was made as agents at a highway checkpoint performed a routine immigration inspection on the driver. During the inspection, a service K-9 alerted to the exterior of the sleeper section of the vehicle. Closer inspection revealed 200 bundles of marijuana, weighing over 416 pounds, hidden under the bed in the sleeper. The driver, a 32-year-old Eagle Pass man, vehicle, and marijuana were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Saturday night, Eagle Pass South Station agents responded to a report of several individuals carrying large backpacks away from the Rio Grande. Agents arrived at the location and found a 2002 Dodge Neon with several large bundles inside. Agents searched the area and detained two male subjects, ages 15 and 21, both Eagle Pass residents. Agents removed nearly 260 pounds of marijuana from the vehicle. The two suspects, vehicle, and marijuana were turned over to the Maverick County sheriff’s office.

Also over the weekend, Eagle Pass agents assisted the Department of Public Safety in an incident that netted 240 pounds of marijuana. A trooper reported he apprehended two subjects loading marijuana into a vehicle near a highway checkpoint. Border Patrol agents provided assistance and apprehended three additional suspects.