EL PASO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Port of Ysleta Cargo Facility in Texas recently intercepted 548 pounds of liquid methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $3 million from inside a big rig’s fuel tank.
“This significant seizure is a perfect example of the work our CBP officers do on a daily basis to protect our communities and nation,” said CBP Ysleta Port Director Arnoldo Gomez.
According to a CBP news release, on March 30, a 47-year-old male Mexican national driving a tractor-trailer applied for entry into the U.S. from Mexico via the Ysleta Port of Entry cargo facility. The primary CBP officer referred the driver for a secondary inspection of the commercial vehicle.
CBP officers then conducted a non-intrusive inspection, where they identified anomalies located within the truck’s fuel tank.
“A CBP officer with his drug-sniffing canine partner assisted with the inspection, resulting in an alert to the presence of a trained odor emitting from the truck,” the news release stated. “Further examination led CBP officers to discover the tank to be full of a substance that tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine.”
The liquid methamphetamine, once safely extracted from the fuel tank and secured in containers, was seized by the CBP.
No arrests were immediately made. The case remains under investigation.
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