see also: in August 2008:   CBP in New York Apprehends Suspected Interpol Fugitive   Louisville CBP Finds Heroin in Woman’s Suit   CBP Officers Nab More than $1 Million in Narcotics in 48-hour Period   Philadelphia CBP Seizes $650,000 in Fake Bank Checks   CBP on a Roll Seizing Fake Handbags, Footwear Again in California   Calexico Downtown Port Officers Intercept $100K Narcotic Smuggling Attempt   CBP Outbound Inspection Yields 293 Unreported Ostrich Skins ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Laredo, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge recovered a stolen vehicle this morning that its owners did not even know was missing. The driver of the stolen vehicle was turned over to local police on felony auto theft charges.

At about 6 a.m. a CBP officer performing routine primary inspections on vehicles arriving at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge from Mexico referred a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 pick-up truck being driven by Rodolfo Mendez, a 23-year-old United States citizen from Laredo, Texas for secondary inspection. At secondary, CBP officers detected evasive behavior from the driver and inconsistencies with his answers on ownership of the truck he was driving.

Further investigation into the issue of the ownership of the vehicle led CBP officers to an oil change receipt in the truck that had a listed phone number and name of the person who had serviced the vehicle. CBP officers contacted the listed person and discovered that the truck had been taken from a residence in Laredo and the owner himself was still unaware that the truck was missing.

CBP officers detained the driver and turned him over to the Laredo Police Department who placed him under arrest and charged him with felony theft of a motor vehicle. The recovered stolen truck was also turned over to the Laredo Police Department and the owner who had arrived at the bridge to identify his truck.

“It is instances like this one that immediately bring to mind the importance of border security not just for ensuring the safety of our great nation but also to assist in the partnership with our state and local counterparts in preventing the loss of stolen vehicles, “said Gene Garza, CBP Port Director, Laredo. “Stolen vehicles are a serious matter that not only impacts insurance rates and the victims who succumb to these predators; CBP takes pride in assisting with the recovery of these vehicles to minimize those effects,” Garza said.

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.