Weapons Busts Near U.S.-Mexico Border Show Heightened Alertness

Release Date: March 11, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

A trio of weapons seizures in Arizona and Texas this week highlight the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) heightened emphasis on tracking and intercepting illegal guns and ammunition near the U.S.-Mexico border under Secretary Janet Napolitano.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized 10 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from a southbound pickup truck in Southwestern Arizona on Saturday. On Thursday, CBP officers found rifle barrels, firearm accessories and gun powder in a tractor-trailer attempting to exit the U.S. for Mexico in Pharr, Tex. And on Wednesday, CBP agents in Laredo, Tex., discovered a collection of weapons and ammunition hidden in a second truck destined for Mexico. In both cases, suspects were arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Stopping the flow of illegal weapons from the United States to Mexico is critical to our fight against violent drug cartels,â€