Infrared Technology Helps Agents Stop Smuggling Attempt

Brownsville, Texas ─ With the help of infrared technology, U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Fort Brown Station seized more than 300 pounds of marijuana and arrested four people.

Early this morning an agent using an infrared device saw several people paddle an inflatable raft that was loaded with marijuana across the Brownsville ship channel. The smugglers fled on foot when approached by agents, but four of them were quickly apprehended and arrested after a brief pursuit.

Inside the raft agents found five bundles of marijuana, with an estimated value of more than $240,000.

At about the same time as the agents in Brownsville were making their bust, agents at the other end of the Rio Grande Valley were seizing more than 400 pounds of marijuana in Havana, Texas.

The drugs were confiscated after agents assigned to the McAllen Station saw several people attempt to load bundles of marijuana into a pickup truck. When agents activated their vehicle’s flashing lights, the pickup drove off and the smugglers ran away ─ leaving behind nearly $350,000 worth of marijuana.

The marijuana from the two seizures will be turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

To report suspicious activity, call the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector’s toll-free telephone number at (800) 863-9382.

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.