see also: in May 2007 News Releases:   Agriculture Inspection, User Fee Requirements Begin June 1 for Commercial Trucks, Railroad Cars Entering U.S. From Canada   Customs and Border Protection starts 2007 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Cycle   New Mexico Border Patrol Seizes Nearly $1.5 Million in Marijuana   Suspected Child Molester, FBI Top 10 Fugitive Turned Over to Buffalo Customs and Border Protection   Jayson P. Ahern Announced as Next CBP Deputy Commissioner   CBP Border Patrol Continues Recruiting With Help of Car #28   Electronic Manifest Filing Now Mandatory in Michigan and New York ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Sarita, Texas — U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents seized nearly half a million dollars in cocaine at the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint last Friday.

The seizure occurred on May 11, when Border Patrol agents assigned to the Sarita Border Patrol Checkpoint on Highway 77 south of Kingsville, Texas, questioned the driver of a sedan as to his citizenship. While determining the driver’s citizenship, a Border Patrol canine alerted positively to the presence of concealed humans or drugs within the vehicle while performing a free air sniff of the exterior.

The driver was directed to the secondary inspection area where a search of the vehicle led to the discovery of five bundles of a white powdery substance, which later tested positive for cocaine, hidden within the dashboard. The total weight of the cocaine was 13.6 pounds with an estimated value of $435,200. The driver, a thirty-three year old U.S. citizen from Corpus Christi, Texas was arrested.

The driver, cocaine, and vehicle were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration pending investigation.

To report suspicious activity, contact the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol sectors’ toll free telephone number at 1-800-863-9382.

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.