Texas law enforcement seized over $2.4 million worth of methamphetamine hidden in a tractor-trailer that attempted to cross the U.S. border at the Pharr Port of Entry, Breitbart reported.
On June 9, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped a 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer approaching from Reynosa, Mexico, for a routine commercial inspection and suspected smuggling. The officers called in the Texas Department of Public Safety as part of Operation Lone Star, a multiagency effort between Texas and the federal government.
DPS special agents uncovered nearly 400 bundles of the drug in a hidden compartment and arrested the driver, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The seized narcotics, an image of which Abbott posted on X, have an estimated street value of over $2.4 million. The driver, 28-year-old Luis Fernando Sarinana Matias of Reynosa, faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, with additional charges likely to follow, according to Breitbart.
In March, CBP officers stopped another large shipment of methamphetamine at the Pharr crossing. During a secondary inspection, a CBP K-9 unit alerted to the presence of drugs.
Officers discovered 960 packages containing nearly 300 pounds of methamphetamine. That shipment was also confiscated, and the driver was transferred to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations for further processing.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.