C.B.P. News Release

Border Patrol Agents Seize 5,059 Pounds of Marijuana Worth $4 Million

(Monday, June 29, 2009)

Laredo, Texas – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Hebbronville station stopped an attempt to smuggle more than two and half tons of marijuana this weekend.

Early Saturday morning, agents performed an immigration inspection of the driver of a tractor pulling an oilfield service tank that drove into the immigration inspection station located south of Hebbronville on Highway 1017. During the inspection, a Border Patrol canine team detected the possible presence of hidden people or contraband in the tank.


Agents searched the tank and found a false compartment built into the bottom. Inside the compartment agents found 205 cellophane-wrapped bundles. The bundles contained marijuana with a total weight of 5,059 pounds and an estimated street value of $4 million.

A hidden compartment in the bottom of a tractor trailer concealed 205 cellophane wrapped bundles of marijuana.

The drugs, the truck and the driver were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free telephone number at 1-800-343-1994.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Contacts For This News Release
Laredo Sector
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (956) 764-3041 Ext: 3243

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2009_3.xml