December 19, 2008
Right Side News Reports
El Paso, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers performing anti-terrorism inspections at El Paso, Texas area ports of entry seized more than 12,000 pounds of marijuana during the previous seven days. The quantity is significantly higher than the 3,000-4,000 pounds of illegal drugs area officers typically seize in a week.
Along with drugs, area CBP officers this week also recorded more than 150 other enforcement actions including fugitive apprehensions, illegal immigration violations, seizures of prohibited agricultural violations and more.
CBP officers working at area ports of entry made a total of 33 marijuana seizures during the previous seven days, confiscating 12,480 pounds of the drug.
Officers at the Fort Hancock port of entry made two drug busts Thursday. The larger seizure occurred just after 8 a.m. when a 1997 Ford F-150 pickup entered the port from Mexico. A CBP drug sniffing dog searched the truck and alerted to the floor. CBP officers removed 110 bundles of marijuana from several hidden compartments in the floor of the truck. The weight of the seized marijuana was 115 pounds. ICE special agents arrested the driver, 18-year-old Ramon Morales Montes of Porvenir, Chihuahua, Mexico, in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.
CBP officers at the Fort Hancock port of entry made a second marijuana bust at about 3 p.m. Thursday when they confiscated 22 pounds of the drug from a 19-year-old Fort Hancock man. The drugs were concealed in the rear quarter panels of a 1978 Chevrolet truck the man was driving. The violator was turned over to the Hudspeth County Sheriff's Office for prosecution.
In another seizure Thursday, CBP officers at the Paso Del Norte crossing in downtown El Paso seized 497 pounds of marijuana. The drugs were concealed in a 2002 GMC Yukon that entered the port from Mexico just before 11 p.m. The seizure was made after CBP drug sniffing dog "Rico" alerted to a large speaker box in the back of the vehicle. CBP officers searched the speaker box and located 430 marijuana-filled bundles. ICE special agents arrested the driver, 53-year-old Ross Hoover of Berino, New Mexico, in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.
CBP officers working at area ports made a total of 10 agriculture seizures during the previous seven day period. Violators paid $2,150 in fines associated with the seizures. Prohibited agricultural items seized this week included pork skins, chorizo, oranges, guavas, pears, apples, tangerines, hawthorn fruit and passion fruit.
Failure to declare prohibited items can result in a $300 penalty for an initial offense and $1,000 for a repeat violation. If properly declared, prohibited food items can generally be abandoned at the port of entry without consequence.
CBP officers recorded 112 immigration violations at area ports this week. CBP officers nabbed 38 intended immigrants, which was the largest group. In these cases, individuals will use a legally issued border-crossing card (laser visa) to live or work in the U.S., which is not authorized. They also lose their documents and are generally returned to Mexico.
CBP officers stopped 27 imposters because of thorough document exams. Imposters generally will use a legitimate entry document assigned to another person and present it as their own. Violators generally lose their documents and are returned to Mexico.
Area CBP officers also identified 47 people who made false claims to U.S. citizenship or attempted to enter with counterfeit or altered documents. The group also included those attempting to enter without inspection and people who stayed in the U.S. longer than their visa permitted.
CBP officers working at area ports also recorded 29 fugitive apprehensions this week. Thorough exams generated positive matches for people who were wanted for sexual assault on a child, indecency with a child, aggravated battery, larceny and several other violations.
In addition to the drug, agriculture, immigration violations and fugitive apprehensions, CBP officers working at El Paso area ports identified three export violations generating $2,150 in penalties, made three seizures of live birds (10 chickens and two roosters total) and seized steroids. While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.
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
--------------------------
