October 5, 11

NEWS / Agents in Texas Seize Ammunition, Nearly 2.5 Tons of Marijuana

Edinburg, Texas ─ Over the past weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector seized nearly 2½ tons of marijuana and 80 ammunition magazines, several of which were fully loaded.

The ammunition and magazines, along with more than 600 pounds of marijuana, were seized Friday near Rio Grande City when agents and investigators from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force executed a search warrant on a ranch. The contraband was found in several underground containers that investigators uncovered on the property. Additionally, agents found part of the marijuana hidden within the frame of a tractor-trailer.

In an unrelated seizure Sunday, agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station confiscated more than 400 pounds of marijuana after seeing several people loading large bundles into a minivan near the Rio Grande. As the agents approached, they noticed the minivan was stuck in the mud and the smugglers were attempting to push it out with a pickup truck. When the agents identified themselves to the smugglers, the group fled into the surrounding brush, leaving behind the vehicles and marijuana.

Additional seizures throughout the Rio Grande Valley Sector pushed the total amount of marijuana confiscated from Friday through Sunday to nearly 5,000 pounds, with an estimated value of more than $3.9 million. The contraband will be turned over to the appropriate agencies for further investigation.

To report suspicious activity, call the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector’s toll-free telephone number at (800) 863-9382.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/local/10032011_3.xml