CBP Officers stop cocaine smuggling attempt at El Paso port

EL PASO, TEXAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Bridge of the Americas international crossing in El Paso seized 45.2 pounds of cocaine May 27. The drugs were hidden in a vehicle being driven by a 20-year-old female U.S. citizen. 

“Every day our dedicated CBP workforce stands guard protecting our community from any and all threats,” said CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio. “Our homeland security mission is never ending and every drug load that we prevent from reaching its intended destination makes a difference.”

The events leading to the seizure began just before 8 a.m. when a 2016 Hyundai Elantra with a single female occupant arrived from Mexico. A CBP officer working at the primary inspection booth selected the vehicle for a secondary exam. 

A CBP drug-sniffing dog searched the car and alerted officers to the presence of narcotics. CBP officers located several wrapped bundles in the vehicle’s rocker panels. A nonintrusive x-ray scan of the car confirmed the presence of anomalies in the left and right rocker panels. CBP officers continued their exam and removed 19 cocaine-filled bundles from the hidden compartments. 

CBP officers arrested the woman. She was turned over to the El Paso County Sheriff’s office to face charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.