C.B.P. News Release

Multiple Dope Seizures Include: Vehicle Rollover, Foot Pursuit

(Monday, December 20, 2010)

Edinburg, Texas ─ More than $7.2 million worth of marijuana was seized from Thursday through Sunday by U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

One of the seizures occurred Thursday morning when an agent assigned to the Rio Grande City Station approached a man who was sitting in a Ford F-250 that was parked in a wooded area. The man ran from the agent but was caught after a brief foot pursuit.

Nearly 1,000 pounds of marijuana were found inside the cab and in a fake fuel tank in the bed of the truck.

Thursday an agent assigned to the Rio Grande City Station approached a man who was sitting in a Ford F-250 that was parked in a wooded area. The man ran from the agent but was caught after a brief foot pursuit.

In one of the largest seizures that occurred over the weekend, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station were working near Cuevitas, Saturday, when they saw two suspicious vehicles being rapidly driven south toward the Rio Grande. Agents found the vehicles parked in thick brush and saw several people loading them with bundles of narcotics. The group scattered into the brush as the agents approached. More than 1,300 pounds of marijuana were found after a thorough search of the vehicles and the surrounding area.

Additionally, nearly 1,000 pounds of marijuana were confiscated Saturday in an unrelated incident near Granjeno, when an agent assigned to the McAllen Station saw a Chevrolet Suburban traveling at a high rate of speed. The vehicle went over a levee, at which time the driver lost control and the vehicle flipped onto its side.

Agents assigned to the bike patrol responded to the area to assist. A total of 11 bundles of marijuana were recovered from the overturned vehicle.

The marijuana seized over the four-day period weighed more than 9,000 pounds and was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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
Border Patrol Headquarters
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (202) 344-1500 or
(202) 344-1780

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