By Walter Finch For Mailonline
Published: 07:28 EDT, 1 September 2022 | Updated: 09:05 EDT, 1 September 2022
Texas border officials made their biggest drugs bust in 20 years when they hauled in almost $12million worth of cocaine disguised as baby wipes.
The drugs were seized at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge near the town of Laredo, one hundred miles from San Antonio, last Friday after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers gave a 2016 Stoughton trailer a secondary inspection.
They uncovered 1,935 packages containing nearly a ton (1,532.65 pounds) of alleged cocaine within the shipment after bringing out the sniffer dogs and using a non-intrusive inspection system examination.
The border town of Laredo, which shares the frontier with its Mexican counterpart Nuevo Laredo, is a hotspot of drug smuggling into the US.
Randy Howe, director of field operations for the CBP's Laredo field office, told Fox News it was a 'colossal, record-setting seizure.'
Texas border officials uncovered 1,935 packages containing 1,532.65 pounds of alleged cocaine
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents are investigating the haul, which has an estimated street value of $11,818,400.
'This seizure is a prime example of border security management and how it helps prevent dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities,' said Port Director Alberto Flores.
'Officers assigned to CBP cargo facilities ensure effective border security by preventing and countering the flow of suspected narcotics entering the country,' he added.
Last month, more than half a million dollars worth of cocaine was seized from a freight truck attempting to enter the US disguised as 'juice' at the same town.
This bust was made at Laredo's World Trade Bridge using the same methods of canines and non-intrusive inspection system examination.
The drugs were seized at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge near Laredo last Friday when US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers gave a 2016 Stoughton trailer a second inspection
They uncovered 38 packages containing 87 pounds of alleged cocaine within the tires of the trailer worth an estimated $600,000, according to the CBS.
'Our CBP officers' knowledge of concealment methods and technology played a key role in the discovery of these illicit narcotics,' Flores said in a statement at the time.
'We remain committed to ensuring our cargo system remains secure while facilitating lawful commerce.'
The CBP's largest drugs bust ever was made further north in the port of Philadelphia in June 2019.
Port agents discovered nearly 20 tons of cocaine with a street value estimated at a staggering $1.3billion.
The container ship MSC Gayane had made previous stops in Peru, Colombia and the Bahamas on its way from Chile to Europe.
The container ship MSC Gayane was busted with $1.3billion worth of cocaine in June 2019. It had made previous stops in Peru, Colombia and the Bahamas on its way from Chile to Europe
Piles of cocaine bricks on display as a press conference is held at at the U.S. Custom House in Philadelphia to discuss details of historic Port of Philly cocaine bust on the MSC Gayane
According to recent data, customs officials have confiscated nearly 200,000 pounds of illicit narcotics since the beginning of the year.
The non-intrusive inspection (NII) system examination is a method the CBS employs to inspect cargo without opening them up using large-scale X-ray and Gammaray imaging systems, as well as a variety of portable and handheld technologies.
'NII technologies are viewed as force multipliers that enable us to screen or examine a larger portion of the stream of commercial traffic while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade, cargo, and passengers,' the CBS write on their website.
Although it is mostly used to detect drug smuggling on the southern border, it is also designed to sniff out materials that pose potential nuclear and radiological threats.
The CBP currently has 309 large-scale NII systems deployed to and in between US ports of entry peering into cargo conveyances such as sea containers, commercial trucks, and rail cars, as well as privately owned vehicles.
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