November 12, 09

NEWS / Brownsville CBP Finds Marijuana in Bundles of Wooden Flooring

Brownsville, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Gateway International Bridge discovered marijuana hidden in a pile of wood flooring in the back of a Ford Aerostar; one male U.S. citizen was arrested.


On Monday, November 9 at the Gateway International Bridge, CBP officers working primary operations encountered a green 1995 Ford Aerostar driven by 74-year-old Federico Hernandez Garza, a U.S. citizen and resident of Brownsville, Texas.

A CBP officer’s primary inspection revealed inconsistencies in two bundles of wood flooring found in the rear of the Aerostar. The CBP officer referred the Ford to secondary for an intensified examination. In secondary, a non-intrusive imaging system scan indicated anomalies within the wood pallets. “Gulliver,” a narcotic detector dog, further substantiated officers’ suspicions and alerted to the odor of narcotics emanating from the wood.



CBP officers dismantled the wood pallets and removed 48 packages from within a void that was found within the bundles of wood. The 48 packages contained a total of more than 225 pounds of marijuana.


The marijuana from this seizure has an estimated street value of more than $225,000. The driver was detained by CBP officers and turned over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents who investigated the seizure. After thorough review of the case, Federico Hernandez Garza was processed by the Cameron County Sherriff’s Office on state drug charges


“Brownsville’s CBP officers used their training and work experience to discover this load of dangerous drugs. Everyone in our team, from the primary officer to the secondary officer and our K-9 “Gulliver” played an instrumental part in the discovery of this load of marijuana. This is great work by our frontline officers in protecting our border,” said Michael Freeman, CBP port director, Brownsville.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/11102009_4.xml