see also: in July 2008:   CBP Discovers 2.7 Tons of Marijuana on Cargo Box Truck   Holiday Travel Reminder for Northwest Border Crossers   Current, Former CBP Employees Assist in Arrest of Purse Snatchers   CBP Officers Arrest Man Wanted for Failure to Register as Sex Offender   California SENTRI Participant in Hot Water, CBP Finds Dope in Vehicle   CBP Officers Arrest Man Wanted for Aggravated Sexual Assault on Minor   CBP Revokes Trusted Traveler Privileges After Finding Prohibited Items During Inspection ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Detroit – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Ambassador Bridge discovered 37.8 pounds of ecstasy in the spare tire of a car, attempting to make entry into the U.S. on Sunday.

A blue 2001 Pontiac Montana minivan bearing Ontario plates, driven by a 43-year-old male Canadian citizen from Windsor, entered the United States on Sunday, July 27, at approximately 12:50 p.m. at the Ambassador Bridge.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working incoming traffic before it reached the primary booths selected the vehicle for inspection. The driver told the inspecting officer that he was going to pick up car parts in Detroit. A quick check by the officers discovered an anomaly with the vehicles spare tire. The driver was escorted to the CBP secondary inspection area for further inspection.

A canine team was utilized to inspect the car with a positive reaction to the spare tire. Officers removed the tire from the vehicle and found it to be extremely heavy. Removal of the valve stem allowed officers to us a fiber optic scope to look inside the tire and they found several plastic bags containing yellow pills. The on-duty supervisor authorized the opening of the tire and removal of the bags which in turn held 50 smaller bags containing pills of various colors.

Field testing of the pills was positive for Ecstasy. A total of more than 37 pounds were recovered consisting of approximately 44,000 pills, with a street value of approximately $882,000. The driver was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents for further investigation while the drugs and car were controlled by CBP.

“Once again it was the attention to details exercised by the officers on duty that stopped these pills from entering the country,” said Detroit Port Director Roderick Blanchard.

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.