see also: in May 2002:   U.S. Customs Announces International Counterfeit Case Involving Caterpillar Heavy Equipment   U.S. Customs Inspectors Seize 1,787 Pounds of Marijuana at World Trade Bridge; One Arrested   U.S. Customs Inspectors in Eagle Pass Seize Five Drug Loads in Five Days, Including Three on Monday   U.S. Customs Inspectors Seize $3.6 Million in Cocaine, Methamphetamine at Hidalgo/Pharr Port of Entry Over Weekend   U.S. Customs Task Force Arrests 11 Charged in Heroin-Smuggling Conspiracy in New York and New Jersey   Child Sex Offender Fugitive Wanted by Arizona and Massachusetts Authorities Captured at Brownsville Port of Entry   Mother's Day Delivery at Fabens Port ...more

contacts for this news release

New Orleans, Louisiana - U.S. Customs Service's Special Agent in Charge Katherine M. Schulte announced today the seizure of over 25 kilograms of pure cocaine and 412 pounds of marijuana in a ten-day period. The seizures resulted when alert state police troopers from Troop B in New Orleans and Troop L in Covington, La., stopped vehicles along the interstate system on the Northshore.

On April 18, 2002, troopers were conducting inspections of commercial vehicles on I-12 near Hammond, La., when a state police narcotics detection dog alerted on several diesel batteries located inside a tractor-trailer. A search of the vehicle and batteries revealed eighteen packages of pure cocaine weighing 16.7 kilograms. Troopers contacted U.S. Customs and DEA agents in New Orleans who determined that the driver, Sostenes Devalle, had traveled from the U.S.-Mexican border town of Harlingen, Tex., and was scheduled to deliver the drugs in New York City.

Devalle was arrested and charged with federal violations of Title 21 U.S.C. 841 (Distribution of a Controlled Substance). He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore.

On May 1, 2002, the state police conducted a traffic stop of a rented mini van as it traveled on I-12 near Hammond, La. Troopers, with the aid of a narcotics dog, searched the vehicle and discovered five full duffel bags containing 412 pounds of marijuana. U.S. Customs agents were again called to assist the state police and a further search of the rear cargo space of the van revealed an additional eight kilograms of pure cocaine. The investigation revealed that the drugs had been smuggled from Mexico.

The driver of the van, Cheryl Rene Chisholm, and passenger Demaleana Barksdale, both of Los Angeles, Calif., were arrested and charged with Title 21 U.S.C. 841 (Distribution of a Controlled Substance). They appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Wilkinson Jr.