Mandi Wright / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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For some reason, smugglers keep trying to sneak their illegal drugs into the United States through checkpoints in Texas. The latest to try this, and fail, was a doozy as they got busted with almost $20 million worth of narcotics concealed within a shipment that was supposed to just be cucumbers and jalapenos.
On Tuesday, February 4, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers assigned to the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility in Texas encountered a tractor-trailer attempting to make entry into the United States from Mexico. After an initial examination of the vehicle, it was selected to undergo a secondary inspection.
Using non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment plus screening by a canine team, the CBP officers pulled 26 packages of alleged heroin weighing 7.53 pounds and a whopping 8,206 packages of alleged methamphetamine with a combined weight of 2,217.85 pounds. The estimated street value of the heroin was $144,500 and the methamphetamine was worth approximately $19,800,000, for a total combined seizure of $19,944,500 worth of illegal narcotics.
Following the discovery, CBP OFO officers seized the narcotics and the vehicle, while Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents initiated a criminal investigation.
“Our CBP officers don’t skip a beat when it comes to securing our border. This interception illustrates the important work CBP does to secure our border from harmful narcotics,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.
🥒🚔 @DFOLaredo CBP officers just caught a spicy shipment at Pharr Bridge—$19.8M in meth & $144.5K in heroin hidden in cucumbers & jalapeños! 🌶️🥒 That’s one way to spice up a smuggling attempt… but not today! #ofoproud🇺🇸 #drugsmuggling
Read more: https://t.co/2kDoqIR30O pic.twitter.com/S9SnoT2EVK
— (A)Executive Asst. Commissioner Diane J. Sabatino (@OFOEAC) February 6, 2025
Millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs are seized almost weekly by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents all over America. The drugs have been found concealed in everything from shipments of soft drinks and industrial machinery to shipments of limes and turnips.