Borderfire Report

Laredo, Texas – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Hebbronville station stopped an attempt to smuggle more than two and half tons of marijuana this weekend.

Early Saturday morning, agents performed an immigration inspection of the driver of a tractor pulling an oilfield service tank that drove into the immigration inspection station located south of Hebbronville on Highway 1017. During the inspection, a Border Patrol canine team detected the possible presence of hidden people or contraband in the tank.

Agents searched the tank and found a false compartment built into the bottom. Inside the compartment agents found 205 cellophane-wrapped bundles. The bundles contained marijuana with a total weight of 5,059 pounds and an estimated street value of $4 million.
   
The drugs, the truck and the driver were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free telephone number at 1-800-343-1994.


U.S. Customs and Border Protection