September 18, 09

NEWS / Laredo, Texas CBP Officers Uncover $3.6 Million Cocaine Stash

Laredo, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Laredo, Texas port of entry yesterday discovered 113 pounds of cocaine in a truck being driven by a 46-year-old man.


The seizure was made shortly before 4 p.m. when a Chevrolet pickup truck entered the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge port of entry from Mexico. A CBP officer initiated a careful search of the vehicle and discovered a hidden compartment within the bed of the truck.


CBP drug detector dog “Benno” alerted to odor or narcotics emanating from the rear of the truck. A small scale mobile imaging system was used to scan the truck and resulted in anomalies detected in the same area of the truck. CBP officers also drilled the bed of the truck that resulted in the extraction of a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.


CBP officers removed a total of 45 bundles from the compartment. The cocaine is valued at $3.6 million.


CBP officers detained the driver, Enrique Ugalde Solorzano, a Mexican national from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents who investigated the seizure. The man was taken to Webb County Detention Center where he was incarcerated pending an appearance before a federal magistrate. The truck and narcotics were seized by CBP officers.


“This seizure can be directly attributed to officer instinct and the initiative that is inherent in our CBP officers,´ said Gene Garza, CBP Port Director, Laredo. “Our officers’ devotion combined with the technology that we have available makes for a winning combination in the detection of significant narcotics seizures like this one.”

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/09172009_9.xml