CBP Agents Seize Over 800 Pounds Of Marijuana At Two Checkpoints
ALAMAGORDO, NM – Customs and Border Protection agents seizedmore than 800pounds of marijuana this week in two separate incidents – the majority of the seizure was made at a traffic checkpoint outside of Alamagordo.
According to CBP officials, Border Patrol agents at the Highway 54 traffic checkpoint south of Alamogordo foundmore than 700pounds of marijuana late Monday.
The marijuana was found in 630 tightly wrapped bundles inside large duffle bags located in a tractor-trailer rig carrying jalapeno peppers, officials say.
The driver of the tractor-trailer approached the checkpoint just before midnight. Agents became suspicious of the driver’s mannerisms when they asked about a large duffle bag that was within sight.
Officials tell ABC-7 the driver said the bag was not his but eventually gave the agents permission to checkit.Agents foundbundles filled with potinside the bag A canine was summoned to the scene and immediately alerted agents to more duffle bags filled with pot at the back of the truck, officials say.
The driver of the rig was taken into custody and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Las Cruces.
Sunday, Border Patrol agents seized almost 100 pounds of marijuana inside a commercial bus at the I-25 traffic checkpoint, north of Las Cruces. Officials stated a canine located the pot in three pieces of luggage wrapped in electrical tape. A total of 48 bundles were found to be filled with pot.
However, the luggage had no identification and no one claimed ownership. It was turned over to the DEA in Las Cruces for disposition.
