see also: in January 2009:   CBP Officers Discover 957 Pounds of Marijuana in Concrete Pipes   CBP Canine Detects $600,000 Worth of Marijuana at Douglas Port   CBP Officers Seize $80,000 of Marijuana at Naco Port of Entry   Border Patrol Stops Vehicle, Leads to Meth Seizure   CBP Officers at Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge Seize Fake $20’s Found during Outbound Inspection   Border Patrol Agents Rescue Woman Injured in Car Accident   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Arrest Wanted Sex Offender ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Santa Teresa, N.M. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations officers working at the Santa Teresa port of entry made their largest drug bust in more than six years Thursday morning. Officers seized 2,192 pound of marijuana yesterday. On July 30, 2002, officers at the Santa Teresa port made a 2,234 pound marijuana bust.

“The size of the seizure would be significant anywhere but especially at a smaller port like Santa Teresa,” said Dennis Shelley, CBP Field Operations assistant port director at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry. “The combination of officer expertise and the use of technology contributed to this seizure. It was a classic case of what we call ‘layered enforcement’ resulting in a notable enforcement action.”

The seizure was made just after 10 a.m. when a 1992 GMC tractor hauling an empty refrigerated trailer entered the commercial cargo facility from Mexico. An officer working at the primary inspection booth detected a number of irregularities in the shipment and selected the rig for an intensive gamma ray scan. During the scan, another officer noted anomalies in the appearance of the floor of the trailer. Officers drilled into the floor and extracted a green substance which tested positive for marijuana.

Officers continued their exam and discovered that the entire floor had been filled with marijuana-filled bundles. Officers removed a total of 530 packages of marijuana from the floor compartment.

Officers arrested the driver of the vehicle. He is identified as 24-year-old Jesus Alonso Jaquez Munoz of Ascension, Chihuahua, Mexico. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents took custody of the subject and secured federal prosecution in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.

While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.

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.