Laredo Border Patrol Agents Seize 4 Tons of Marijuana Tractor Trailer Load of Drugs Worth $6.2 Million

Laredo Border Patrol Agents Seize 4 Tons of Marijuana
Tractor Trailer Load of Drugs Worth $6.2 Million

(Thursday, November 06, 2008)

contacts for this news release

Laredo, Texas – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Laredo North station disrupted an effort to smuggle 7,828 pounds of marijuana today.

“Our agents remain vigilant in employing all available resources to keep drug and alien smugglers from succeeding,” said Laredo Sector Chief Patrol Agent Carlos X. Carrillo.

Agents manning the checkpoint located on Interstate 35 north of Laredo conducted an immigration inspection of the driver of a tractor-trailer. A Border Patrol canine alerted agents to the trailer, indicating the possible presence of people or contraband.

The vehicle was referred for secondary inspection and examined by the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System, which uses gamma rays to produce an image similar to an x-ray. The machine image showed several anomalies among a load of large cardboard boxes that were being transported in the cargo area.


More than 7,800 pounds of dope was seized in Laredo.


Agents opened the sealed trailer and inspected the cargo. Many of the boxes contained cellophane-wrapped bundles mixed in with other cargo. Agents removed 264 bundles from the trailer. The bundles contained marijuana with a total weight of 7,828.2 pounds and an estimated street value of $6.2 million.

The driver, the truck and the marijuana were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The driver faces possible felony drug smuggling charges. In addition to federal charges, the driver could also face a lifetime revocation of his Commercial Driver’s License under the Texas Hold‘Em initiative.

To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free telephone number at 1-800-343-1994.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.