US customs officers in Texas found several lbs of a white material hiding in a industrial ice product maker, authorities say – and it was not salt or sugar.
Officers doing the job at the Bridge of the Americas cargo facility in El Paso seized 146 pounds of cocaine, according to a information launch from the US Customs and Border Safety.
The offers of illegal drugs have been discovered concealed in a big ice cream machine that was being taken from Mexico to the US, according to the launch.
Officers seized the prescription drugs on June 19, when a 1995 Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by a 43-year-aged Mexican gentleman entered the port with the machine in tow, authorities stated Thursday.
An X-ray scan of the truck showed anomalies and a CBP canine searched the auto.
A closer inspection disclosed 56 bundles of cocaine stashed in the ice cream maker’s partitions, the release mentioned.
“We estimate the price of this drug seizure at $1.2 million,” CBP spokesperson Roger Maier informed CNN in an e mail.
CBP officers seized the narcotics and automobile. The driver was turned around to the Texas Section of Community Security, the place he faces point out charges connected to the alleged smuggling try.
“The broad vast majority of business shipments CBP officers process pose little possibility, however seizures like this remind us all that medicine can be concealed virtually any where and that we need to continue being frequently vigilant,” explained performing CBP El Paso port director Luis Mejia in the launch.
CBP has seized more than 33,000 lbs of cocaine so much in 2023. Last 12 months, officers seized more than 70,200 lbs . of the unlawful material, data demonstrates.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
