see also: in December 2007 News Releases:   Fugitive with $1 Million Bail Apprehended by CBP   Canada, CBP Team to Arrest U.S. Citizen Wanted for Sex Offense Charges With Child   Calexico, Calif. East Port to Extend Hours New Year’s Eve   Quick Action by Border Patrol Agent Saves Life on Christmas Day   CBP Officers Seize Over Half a Million in Cocaine, Marijuana, and Arrest One at Laredo Port of Entry   CBP Detains Missing Wanted Juvenile at Del Rio Port of Entry   CBP in Laredo, Texas Detains ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ Suspect Wanted on Bank Robbery Charges ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Antelope Wells, N.M. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the remote Antelope Wells port of entry in southwestern New Mexico made an unusual marijuana seizure Monday. CBP officers discovered 11 pounds of marijuana submerged in jars of pickled jalapeños.

The seizure was made shortly after 9 a.m. Monday when a 2005 Chevrolet van towing a trailer entered the port from Mexico. A CBP officer was checking baggage in the trailer when he had discovered several jars of pickled jalapeños in a box. The officer opened a jar and found that it contained a brick of marijuana submerged and surrounded by the peppers. A total of six pepper jars contained similar bricks with a combined weight of 11 pounds. Officers from the Border Operation Task Force arrested the driver of the van, a 38-year-old Mexican male who is a legal permanent resident of Glendale, Arizona.

"The attention to detail and professionalism demonstrated by CBP officers at the Antelope Wells crossing led to this unusual seizure," said Charles Wright, CBP Columbus port director.

The seizure marks the second time in three days that area CBP officers have discovered drugs in an unusual concealment. On Saturday, officers at the Ysleta port of entry in El Paso seized 30 pounds of marijuana that were concealed inside six large holiday candles. A 17-year-old El Paso youth was arrested after CBP officers discovered the wax-encased weed.

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.

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.