Customs seizes $5M in drugs at border bridges

Officers at Rio Grande Valley international bridges seized almost $5 million in cocaine and marijuana last week in five stops, three of which occurred at the B&M International Bridge in Brownsville, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today.

One of the stops in Pharr revealed more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana hidden in a tractor-trailer.

Officers stopped a 22-year-old Brownsville man at the B&M International Bridge Feb. 1 after officers discovered about 30 pounds of cocaine wrapped in 12 packages concealed in his Jeep Liberty, CBP spokesman Eddie Perez said in a press release.

Two days later on Feb. 3, officers at the B&M Bridge stopped a Los Fresnos man, 22, and found almost 20 pounds of cocaine in his vehicle, Perez said.

Officers seized about 58 pounds of marijuana during a third stop at the B&M Bridge last week when they searched the vehicle of a 21-year-old Mexican citizen crossing into Brownsville.