Customs and Border Protection officials recently seized over $20 million worth of narcotics in Laredo, Texas, the agency revealed in a press release.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, August 18 at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
CBP said that officers noticed a tractor-trailer arriving from Mexico carrying "galvanized steel coil."
The vehicle was described as a 2011 Kenworth tractor and flatbed and CBP officers said that they referred the truck for a "canine and non-intrusive imaging system inspection."
During the inspection of the truck, CBP officers discovered 30 packages hidden inside the truck's cargo containing 1,030.35 pounds of alleged methamphetamine, according to the press release
The narcotics in the truck "have an estimated street value of $20,606,837," said CBP.
CBP officers seized the packages as well as the truck's flatbed. The smuggling case was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents to continue their investigation.
The agency did not provide any further information on the driver of the truck that was found carrying the alleged narcotics.
Alberto Flores, the director of the CBP Laredo Port of Entry, called the seizure of the alleged methamphetamine an "exceptional illustration of CBP's dedication to our border security mission."
"Officers at the Laredo Port of Entry have strengthened their enforcement strategy by targeting these high-risk commodities. Large-scale seizures such as this one help to disrupt the flow of deadly narcotics into our country," Flores said in the press release.
CBP officers made a similar seizure earlier this month at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility in California. While inspecting a truck at the facility, CBP officers discovered 414 packages containing methamphetamine and fentanyl hidden within a shipment of household items.
The 414 packages contained over 2.8 tons of methamphetamine and fentanyl. CBP officers said the alleged narcotics had a street value of over $12 million.
Data from CBP shows that from October to July, border protection officers have conducted over 4,000 drug seizures. CBP officials have seized a total of 551,014 pounds of narcotics across the U.S. borders from October to July.
In comparison, during the same time period in 2020, CBP officers seized 680,509 pounds of narcotics.
From October to July, over 158,000 pounds of methamphetamine have been seized by CBP officers. Comparatively, 177,684 pounds of methamphetamine were seized by CBP officers throughout 2020.
Newsweek reached out to CBP for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
