HIDALGO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo and Anzalduas International Bridges arrested two women in connection with two separate, unrelated unsuccessful attempts to smuggle alleged methamphetamine and cocaine worth $1,992,000 within the vehicles they were driving.
“Perseverance and dedication to the CBP mission of keeping dangerous drugs from crossing our borders is what allowed our frontline officers to detect and intercept these narcotics. Their efforts to interdict these narcotics ultimately prevented them from entering and negatively impacting our communities,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas.
On April 11, 2021, a 54-year-old woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma arrived at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge driving a Chrysler Pacifica and a CBP officer referred her for a more thorough examination. With the assistance of a (canine team), officers conducting the secondary inspection were able to discover that the SUV’s gas tank contained alleged liquid methamphetamine. CBP officers discovered a total of 90 pounds (40.86 kg) of the drug worth $1,802,000 which was placed in plastic containers.
Days earlier at the Anzalduas International Bridge, a 26-year-old female United States citizen from Edinburg, Texas driving a Ford Edge was referred for a secondary inspection upon arriving from Mexico. The secondary examination resulted in officers discovering 10 packages weighing 24.65 pounds (11.18 kg) of alleged cocaine hidden within the vehicle. These narcotics are valued at $190,000.
CBP OFO seized all the narcotics, both vehicles and arrested the two women who were ultimately turned over to the custody of agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) as they continued with the investigations.