EL PASO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists working at the Paso Del Norte international border crossing in downtown El Paso led CBP officers to methamphetamine concealed inside of a speaker box.
“CBP agriculture specialists are trained to detect all threats, not just dangerous pests inside prohibited plant and food products,” said El Paso Acting Port Director Samuel Cleaves. “All CBP personnel are involved in combating narcotics smuggling, as hard narcotics such as methamphetamine continue to be encountered at ports of entry.”
On April 23, CBP agriculture specialists conducting baggage inspections, searched a backpack belonging to a 26-year-old male U.S. citizen who arrived from Mexico via pedestrian. CBP agriculture specialists identified anomalies within the backpack during an x-ray scan.
CBP agriculture specialists notified CBP officers of their findings who upon search of the backpack discovered a speaker box containing plastic bags. Inspection of the bags revealed a crystal-like substance which tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine. A total of six bags with a combined weight of 2.57 pounds of methamphetamine were removed from within the speaker box.
The narcotics were seized by CBP, and the individual was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for prosecution.