CBP Agents Seize 300 Pounds Of Pot Near Asarco

EL PASO — Custom and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized more than 300 pounds of pot in duffle bags over the weekend.

Officials say a truck was being loaded with the pot near the Asarco refinery shortly before ten p.m. Saturday. Camera operators observed several individuals running north from the border and loading up the duffel bags that contained the pot.

Agents in the area were advised of the situation and responded quickly. Moments later, the vehicle made a u-turn in an effort to evade Border Patrol agents, officials said.

Investigators said the truck even cut into oncoming traffic on Paisano Drive and drove through a chain link fence in an effort to cross the Rio Grande back into Mexico.

The truck came to a stop in the U.S. bank of the Rio Grande and the driver jumped out of the truck and fled on foot to Mexico, officials said.

Inside the truck, agents discovered six duffel bags full of pot. The 300 pounds of pot found in the duffel bags were valued at more than $245,000.

Several minutes after the bust, nine individuals got out of a truck on the Mexican side of the border. Officials say they crossed into the U.S. and attempted to recover the truck and the pot that were seized, officials said.

When CBP agents approached the men, they fled back into Mexico. Authorities in Mexico were alerted but were not able to find the truck or the suspects.

CBP officials say similar incidents are occuring more frequently in the El Paso sector. They said this latest seizure occurred in an area targeted by “Operation No-Pass.” The goal of the operation is to prevent human trafficking along the the border.