El Paso Customs makes 13 drug seizures in one day (4:21 p.m.)
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
03/26/2007 04:10:37 PM MDT


Customs and Border Protection officers made 13 drug seizures Saturday in El Paso, confiscating 1,209 pounds of marijuana and 9.7 pounds of cocaine in what was one of the busiest days in recent history.

The largest seizure of the day occurred just after 9 p.m. at the Zaragoza Bridge when officers found 322 pounds of marijuana in a load of furniture in the bed of a 1984 Ford F-150 pickup truck. The truck's driver, Miguel Angel Ortiz, 41, of El Paso, was arrested.

David Longoria, the port director for Customs and Border Protection in El Paso, said that officers still kept traffic flowing Saturday.

"CBP officers were able to keep border crossing times under 60 minutes for most of the day while processing dozens of drug cases, illegal immigration attempts, agriculture violations, and other enforcement concerns," he said.

The Border Patrol also had a big day Saturday, with over 624 pounds of marijuana seized from a tractor trailer at the checkpoint on U.S. 54 near Alamogordo. The drugs were hidden inside pallets of cement.



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