Officials in Texas seized roughly 1,500 pounds of cocaine Friday inside a trailer truck that purported to carry baby wipes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced. Officials estimated the shipment’s street value at about $11.8 million.
A truck hauling a 2016 Stoughton trailer attempted to cross into the United States from Mexico at the Colombia-Solidarity bridge connecting Laredo, Texas, to Mexico over the Rio Grande river. CBP officers waved the truck through for a secondary inspection, where dogs helped discover nearly 2,000 packages containing cocaine.
A CBP director said the seizure underscored the need for his agency.
“This seizure is a prime example of border security management and how it helps prevent dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities,” Alberto Flores, CBP’s Laredo port director, was quoted in the agency’s news release.
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CBP seized the drugs, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement, another Department of Homeland Security agency, is investigating.
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Details about the driver, the truck’s destination or charges related to the seizure were unclear. USA TODAY’s inquiry to CBP was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Border officials have seized roughly 553,000 pounds of drugs so far in the fiscal year 2022, which runs from October to September, according to the latest CBP data. Last fiscal year, roughly 914,000 pounds of drugs were seized, according to CBP data.