Alleged Smuggler Hides Ecstasy Tablets In Rectum
EL PASO, Texas — Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 244 tablets of ecstasy concealed in a man’s rectum, CBP officials said.
The seizure was made late Tuesday night when a 23-year-old man walked across the Bridge of the Americas. CBP officers selected the man for an intensive exam and found reason to believe the man had an item concealed in a body cavity, CBP officials said.
While waiting for an X-ray exam, the man allegedly removed an item from his pants and attempted to conceal it under a nearby mattress.
The object was a red balloon about the size of two golf balls in which the ecstasy tablets were found. The street value of the tablets was estimated at $5,000.
CBP officers turned the man over to the El Paso Police Department Wednesday morning. The man’s name was not released.
Early Wednesday morning, CBP officers found 51.9 lbs. of cocaine concealed in the front bumper of a 2000 Ford Taurus at the Paso del Norte port of entry. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents arrested the driver of the car, 26-year-old Guillermo Alcocer Diaz of Juarez. He is detained without bond at the El Paso County Detention Facility.
Also on Wednesday, CBP officers discovered 3,824 lbs. of marijuana hidden in a load of scrap metal. Officers found marijuana-filled bundles in six large metal boxes in a trailer hauled by a 1987 Kenworth tractor, CBP officials said.
Thirty-five-year-old Juan Alberto Lopez Prieto of Juarez was arrested by ICE agents and is detained without bond at the El Paso County Detention Facility.
