November 23, 10

NEWS / Agents Seize More than 3 Tons of Dope over Weekend

Edinburg, Texas - More than $5.8 million worth of marijuana was confiscated in multiple seizures by U.S. Border Patrol agents throughout the Rio Grande Valley Sector over the past weekend.

One of the largest seizures occurred Friday near Hidalgo, Texas, when agents assigned to the McAllen Station noticed a suspicious vehicle driving away from the Rio Grande at a high rate of speed. When agents attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver jumped out and fled on foot into a sugarcane field. A helicopter from CBP Office of Air and Marine and the Hidalgo Police Department assisted with the search. Inside the vehicle agents found more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.

In a separate incident Saturday, agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station seized more than 800 pounds of marijuana when they were tracking a group of people and found the marijuana hidden in the brush under camouflage netting.

All of the seized marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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/11222010_5.xml