Mexican boy, 15, held after $1.1M South Texas marijuana bust

Law officers in South Texas have apprehended a 15-year-old Mexican boy accused of driving a vehicle hauling more than a half-ton of smuggled marijuana.

Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector Chief Manuel Padilla Jr. says the bust, involving drugs with an estimated street value of $1.1 million, shows how transnational criminal organizations exploit youth.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection statement Monday announced the Dec. 8 seizure of 1,380 pounds of marijuana.

Agents patrolling near the Rio Grande in Los Indios saw several people loading bundles of marijuana into a vehicle.

Agents followed and stopped the vehicle, leading to the driver – a Mexican teen – being caught and turned over to police. Further details on the juvenile weren’t released.

The marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.