LAREDO, Texas — Border patrol agents seized more than $18 million worth of methamphetamine during two raids over the weekend in Texas, customs officials said.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release, the first seizure occurred Friday at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo.
CBP officers and canines found 336 packages containing 763 pounds of meth in a Kenworth tractor that was transporting handcrafted cobblestone, KGNS reported. The narcotics seized have an estimated street value of $15,266,414, the television station reported.
Officers discovered 139.24 pounds of meth hidden inside a shipment of auto equipment, according to the release.
On Saturday at the Colombia Solidarity Bridge, agents referred a 2003 Ford F-250 truck for a secondary inspection, the CBP said in its release.
The drugs from the second raid have an estimated street value of $2,784,850, the CBP said.
The total amount of narcotics seized has a street value of $18,051,264.
“The upsurge of methamphetamine trafficking has become a serious international health and security threat,” Acting Port Director Andrew Douglas, Laredo Port of Entry, said in a statement. “These seizures validate CBP’s commitment in securing our borders and protecting our communities from this persistent drug threat.”
The cases were turned over to Homeland Security, KGNS reported.