Suspicious item halts port traffic for 4 hours
Bridge closes
El Paso Times Staff
Article Launched: 09/21/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

Motorists heading north into the United States at the Zaragoza International Bridge left their vehicles when the bridge was closed after officials found a suspicious item in a Nissan Altima driven by a 17-year-old man from Mexico.


By Darren Meritz

El Paso Times

Traffic at the Ysleta Port of Entry was delayed for four hours Thursday after customs agents found a suspicious item in a northbound car driven by a man believed to be smuggling marijuana into the United States.

Officials with Customs and Border Protection said they detained the 17-year-old man from Mexico around 3:20 p.m. after finding the item. Customs officials would not elaborate on the item, but said the El Paso Police Department Bomb Squad was called to the scene.

The suspicious item caused customs to stop northbound car and pedestrian traffic.

Later, southbound tractor-trailer traffic was also stopped because the commercial lanes are close to the northbound car lanes, said Roger Maier, spokes man for Customs and Border Protection.

A line of tractor-trailers could be seen for more than a mile leading to the port of entry along both the César Chávez Memorial Highway and Americas Avenue.

"We work per trip and I got only two trips. I lost two more trips," said César Cuellar, a truck driver moving electrical products from El Paso to Juárez. "I don't have any money. I lost money today."

The 17-year-old man, whose name was not released, was turned over to the El Paso Police Department.

Traffic resumed moving across the bridge around 7:30 p.m. Thursday after the bomb squad destroyed the suspicious device and determined it did not pose a threat.

"In this era, you want to be safe while also being secure," Maier said. "While
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it was a disruption, obviously if we didn't take those precautions and it was something nefarious, the death and destruction potential could be high."

Darren Meritz may be reached at dmeritz@elpasotimes.com; 546-6127.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_6953899