C.B.P. News Release

Border Patrol Agents Busy Weekend of Seizures Including $20 Million in Marijuana Ends with Rescue

(Monday, December 14, 2009)

Edinburg, Texas — U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector kept busy over the weekend by making numerous marijuana seizures, an ammunition seizure and performing a rescue.

Starting Friday, agents made multiple unrelated seizures during a 24-hour period that resulted in more than 15,000 pounds of marijuana being seized. The seizures continued Saturday across the Valley and north to the checkpoints over the weekend with an additional 8,800 pounds of marijuana seized.

The marijuana seized has an estimated street value of nearly $20 million. All narcotics and suspects were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation. Border Patrol agents also seized more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers on Sunday after a driver abandoned his vehicle when approached by agents near the river in La Joya.

The weekend concluded with the rescue of a man from El Salvador on Sunday. The Brooks County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a man claiming to be disoriented and in distress. Agents, with the assistance of the Border Patrol’s Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) team, were able to locate the man on the King Ranch and transport him to a medical facility where he was later released and subsequently processed for his illegal entry into the U.S.

To report suspicious activity, contact the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector’s toll-free telephone number at 1-800-863-9382.

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
Rio Grande Valley
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (956) 289-4845

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2009_5.xml