Cocaine Seizures Rise Sharply

Nearly 370 Pounds Of Cocaine Seized This Year Compared To Less Than 70 lbs. Pounds In Same Period Of 2010

Jacob Rascon-KFOX14 News Reporter
Posted: 5:57 pm MDT April 15, 2011Updated: 9:05 pm MDT April 15, 2011

EL PASO, Texas -- Cocaine seizures are up more than five fold this year compared to last year at this time at the U.S. Mexico border according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Every day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection catches someone attempting to smuggle drugs into the El Paso area from Mexico, and ever year they seize hundred hundreds of pounds of cocaine and thousand thousands of pounds of marijuana.

Last year at this time, after only three months, border Border Patrol officers seized more than 18,000 lbs. pounds of marijuana. This year they've seized more than 27,000.

Last year at this time, they had seized nearly 70 pounds of cocaine. This year they've sezied close to 370 lbs. for the same time period.
Ruben Jauregui with U.S. Customs and Border Protection told KFOX-14 that drug traffickers get increasingly creative about where they try to hide their illegal drugs.

Pictures Jauregui gave KFOX-14 show marijuana found inside paintings of Jesus, in boxes hidden in gas tanks and inside car doors.

"We've seen them hid everywhere in the car except the keyhole," Jauregui said.

He said CBP catches all types of offenders, from juveniles to senior citizens.

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