EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Fentanyl seizures at port of entries in the Southwest border continue to plummet.
Only 673 pounds of the potentially deadly synthetic opioid, fentanyl, were seized in March by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations. This is a significant decrease from the 2,500 pounds seized last July, but the danger it poses remains high.
The decline comes as the U.S. and Mexican governments continue to put pressure on transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. The Drug Enforcement Administration, through its rigorous investigations, has identified these cartels as the primary exporters of fentanyl to America, contributing to the decline in seizures.
On the other hand, cocaine seizures reached a 17-month high in March, the latest month for which CBP has released detailed statistics.
More than 3,400 pounds of the powerful stimulant were seized by OFO on the Southwest border in March, second only to the 3,500 pounds seized in October 2023.
DEA officials and international security experts tell Border Report the increase coincides with a resurgence in coca plantations in South America, a significant development as it provides a steady supply of raw materials for cocaine production. This, coupled with transnational criminal organizations adjusting their tactics, has led to the surge in drug trafficking.
Border officers primarily are seizing the drug in two places: San Diego and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. A total of 3,300 pounds was seized between the two sectors in March.
Cocaine is coming inside passenger vehicles with drivers playing the odds at U.S. ports of entry. Last year, 76.5 million passenger vehicles and 7.5 million commercial trucks crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Not all those vehicles were physically searched by CBP, making it a challenging task to intercept these illegal activities.
Three multi-kilo cocaine busts were reported in the Rio Grande Valley in the space of 24 hours over the weekend, underscoring the alarming frequency of these incidents.
The first involved 21 kilos hidden in a car driven by a 51-year-old U.S. citizen, Alma Lilia Sanchez.
Sanchez drove her vehicle to the Hidalgo (Texas) port of entry on May 2 and requested admission to the U.S. Records show a CBP officer, as part of routine procedures, sent the car for a random X-ray inspection, and images showed anomalies in the back, prompting further investigation.
A canine officer confirmed the presence of drugs, and border officers went to work on the vehicle. They allegedly found several cellophane-wrapped packages with a powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine, court records show.
A Homeland Security Investigative agent, part of the collaborative efforts between different law enforcement agencies, interviewed Sanchez, and she allegedly told him an unidentified person in Mexico hired her to cross the drugs into the U.S.
The next day in Pharr, Texas, a 19-year-old woman tried to return to the U.S. from Mexico driving a black Kia Rio. The CBP officer interviewing her received a computer-generated notice and sent the woman and the Kia to a secondary inspection area.
Records show an X-ray machine showed anomalies in the panels of the vehicle, resulting in the seizure of 17 bundles of a substance that tested positive for cocaine. The total weight was 17.9 kilograms.
The woman allegedly told an HSI agent someone in Mexico promised to pay her $1,000 to cross the drugs, but she said she was under the impression it was only one bundle.
Around the same time in Laredo, Texas, an alert CBP officer noticed an uneven floor in the back of a 2013 Ford Edge crossover SUV driven by U.S. citizen Jimmy Vasquez. He sent the vehicle to secondary. Border officers found 16.6 kilos of cocaine under the floor, court records show. In an interview with HSI, Vasquez and his Mexican passenger, Walter Diaz Nino, initially said they were heading to Houston to pick up a relative.
Court records show Diaz eventually mentioned a $4,500 payoff for taking the drugs into the United States, and Vasquez allegedly said, “this was his first time crossing drugs.”
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