Hundreds of pounds of drugs seized at US-Mexico border in first weeks of December

Hundreds of pounds of meth, fentanyl, and marijuana were seized by customs officers in just the first two weeks of December, officials said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized 714 pounds of methamphetamine, 105 pounds of fentanyl, 660 pounds of marijuana, and 32 pounds of heroin, CBP officials said.

Officers have also detained 31 fugitives at El Paso-area ports of entry.

The first large drug bust happened Dec. 2 at the Ysleta port of entry, where officers found a mixed load of more than eight pounds of fentanyl, seven pounds of heroin, and five pounds of cocaine, officials said.

The drugs were found in a Nissan Sentra driven by an 18-year-old male U.S. citizen.

The second large drug bust happened Dec. 6 when officers conducting inspections at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad crossing found anomalies in one of the railcars, officials said.

Officers then found 119 bundles of marijuana weighing 634 pounds.

On Dec. 7, officers found 524 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 2 pounds of fentanyl in the roof of a Kenworth tractor-trailer at the Santa Teresa port of entry cargo facility., officials said.

On Dec. 8, officers at the Bridge of the Americas border crossing were alerted by a drug-sniffing dog to liquid detergent bottles carried across the border by a 26-year-old male U.S. citizen.

Officers found more than 55 pounds of liquid methamphetamine inside the bottles.

The next day, a 22-year-old man, a U.S. citizen, attempted to cross the Bridge of the Americas in a Ford Expedition when officers found more than 23 pounds of fentanyl hidden in the vehicle’s spare tire, officials said.

Officers working at the Paso Del Norte border crossing Dec. 10 found more than 24 pounds of heroin concealed in the quarter panels of an SUV driven by a 44-year-old man, a lawful permanent resident from Oklahoma, officials said.

Source: El Paso Times