U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Ysleta Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas, seized 27.1 pounds of cocaine on June 2. The drugs were concealed in a pickup truck driven by a 21-year-old U.S. citizen. This follows another seizure of 20.1 pounds of cocaine at the same location on May 28.
“Once again our CBP Officers have demonstrated their vigilance in stopping dangerous, addictive narcotics from entering our country,” stated CBP Ysleta Port Director Arnie Gomez. He noted that this was the second significant cocaine seizure at the port within a week, highlighting the importance of officer training to detect hidden contraband.
The Silverado pickup truck arrived from Mexico at 6:46 a.m. and was selected for secondary inspection where anomalies were detected during a low energy portal scan. Brown packages found in the truck tested positive for cocaine.
The driver was arrested and handed over to Homeland Security Investigations special agents to face charges under U.S. Code § 952 related to controlled substance importation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has accepted the case for prosecution.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is described as America's frontline and is noted as the largest law enforcement organization in the nation and the world's first unified border management agency with over 65,000 personnel working to protect America across various domains.
