see also: in January 2007 News Releases:   Membership of Trade/Customs Advisory Committee Announced   CBP Border Patrol Launches Massive Search to Preserve Life   CBP Officers Make 22 Drug Busts at Calexico Ports During Busy Week   3,010 Pounds of Marijuana Seized at Nogales Port of Entry   CBP Border Patrol Makes a Record Drug Bust   Registration Underway for Third CBP Conference on ACE   CBP Officers Nab Mother/Daughter Cocaine Smugglers; Juveniles With Marijuana Loads Also Nabbed This Week ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Houston — U.S. Customs and Border Protection welcomed New Area Port Director Terry L. Estell, who arrived Dec. 4 to replace Harold Woodward after he accepted a similar appointment in Miami.

Estell is responsible for providing support and guidance to the ports under his direction: Houston, Galveston, Freeport, Corpus Christi and Pt. Arthur, Texas.

Prior to this appointment, Estell was the port director in Vancouver B.C., Canada, a pre-clearance location for CBP. Estell is a native of Kansas City, Kan. and a 1968 graduate of Wyandotte High School.

Estell started his federal career in the military and is a distinguished U.S. Army veteran. Mr. Estell was an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Rotary Wing Flight School and served as a Rotary Wing Flight instructor. He joined the U.S. Customs Service in 1987 and began his career in the Port of Los Angeles.

In 2002, Estell accepted a promotion as port director in Vancouver and served there until his recent move to Houston.

He has also served as port liaison to CBP headquarters and provided assistance and expertise to many work groups and review teams. He has served on the Chief Inspector’s Advisory Board to the Customs Commissioner and represented the United States on agency matters in Asia, Africa and Central and South America.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for 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.