see also: in April 2004:   European Community and Department of Homeland Security Sign Landmark Agreement to Improve Container Security and Expand CSI   Fast Dedicated Lane Opens at Champlain, NY   Commissioner Bonner Dedicates Fast Lane In Laredo   U.S. Customs And Border Protection Officers Arrest Wanted Fugitive Stolen Car And Weapons Cache Seized In Blaine   Advance Electronic Transmission Of Inbound Rail Cargo Data   U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Commerce Department Sign Agreement for Use of Data ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Fabens, Texas-One subject is behind bars today after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents in Fabens, Texas discovered 2,773 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle 5.7 miles east of Fabens on Texas Highway 20.

On Wednesday, Border Patrol Agents working east of the Fabens Port of Entry observed a group of subjects cross the international boundary carrying bundles. The subjects then hid in an irrigation canal north of the Rio Grande River. A short time later, a pick-up truck was seen traveling toward this area. Agents watched as the bundles were loaded into the truck. Upon completion, the individuals that were carrying the bundles returned south to Mexico. The truck, a 1984 GMC pick-up, was then observed leaving the area.

Agents followed the vehicle from a distance and attempted a traffic stop based on what they observed. The driver, 23-year old Ricardo Camacho-Covarrubias, pulled off the road, exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Agents quickly apprehended Camacho-Covarrubias, who was determined to be a citizen of Mexico and had entered the U.S. without proper immigration documents.

Several cellophane-wrapped bundles were observed through the windshield, in the bed of the truck, and in the cab of the truck. Agents noted there was hardly room for the driver to sit because there were so many bundles stuffed in the cab. A Border Patrol canine was brought in and alerted to the engine compartment, cab and truck bed area. Upon further inspection, 361 bundles of various size and weight were located. The total weight of the marijuana was determined to be 2,773.87 pounds, valued at approximately $2.2 million.

The truck, narcotics, and Camacho-Covarrubias, were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in El Paso for prosecution.

To date in fiscal year 2004, agents in the El Paso Sector have made 787 narcotic seizures, valued at $130.9 million.

The Border Patrol is a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for managing and securing our nation's borders.