LaredoSun.com

Laredo CBP Officers Intercept Cache of Weapons Headed to Mexico
By: Special to The Laredo Sun, Saturday, February 11, 2012

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry today stopped 11 weapons headed to Mexico from exiting the U.S.inside a luxury vehicle.

Laredo, TX. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry today stopped 11 weapons headed to Mexico from exiting the U.S.inside a luxury vehicle.

The seizure occurred today, Feb. 8, 2012 when CBP officers and agents at the Lincoln Juarez Bridge were conducting outbound inspections of vehicles.

The CBP officers obtained a negative declaration for firearms, ammunition, and any monetary instruments in excess of $10,000 and initiated an inspection of a 2010 Cadillac CTS. The vehicle was referred for a non-intrusive exam.

An x-ray scan of the vehicle revealed anomalies within a man-made compartment within the vehicle’s trunk area. A closer visual inspection by CBP officers resulted in the discovery of 10 rifles and one handgun.

Also discovered were eight ammunition magazines as well as 94 rounds of ammunition.

CBP officers seized the weapons, magazines and the ammunition. This case was referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) agents for further investigation.

CBP officers at eight ports of entry extending from Brownsville to Del Rio in the first quarter of FY 2012 seized 32,472 pounds of narcotics that carried an estimated street value of nearly $74 million.

Specifically they seized 31,054 pounds of marijuana, 942 pounds of cocaine, 414 pounds of methamphetamine, 62 pounds of heroin, $2.1 million in undeclared currency, five firearms and 12,640 rounds of ammunition.

“The seizure of these weapons is highly significant for our outbound enforcement efforts that are specifically geared at focusing on currency, weapons, export violations, and fugitives exiting the United States.

The amount of weapons intercepted in this case serve to validate our commitment to the CBP mission,” stated Sidney K. Aki, CBP Port Director, Laredo.

Sidney continued, “The use of our technological tools and our officers’ unwavering vigilance are important factors in the stopping of these weapons from reaching their intended illegal exportation.”

Edited by: Christine Rojas

http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=20161