see also: in October 2002:   Alleged Colombian Heroin Distributor Arrested in Chicago; Among 25 Charged in Operation Smackdown Led by Customs Agents   U.S. Customs Publishes Final Regulations to Require Advance Shipping Information   Customs Agent is Presented the Presidential Council on Integrity and Efficiency Award   U.S. Customs Inspectors Seize $7.6 Million in Cocaine at Hidalgo/Pharr in Five Days   More Than 300 Registered for Customs Trade Symposium 2002   Wang Pleads Guilty to Bribery, Smuggling in Export Scheme Involving Chinese Textiles   China Joins the U.S. in Container Security Initiative ...more

contacts for this news release

Laredo, TX - U.S. Customs inspectors and canine enforcement officers working at World Trade Bridge seized a 679-pound load of marijuana during a routine examination last night. This is the first significant marijuana load to be seized in the import lot since the new fiscal year began October 1.

	At World Trade Bridge in Laredo, U.S. Customs seized 679 pounds of marijuana hidden in the gas tanks of a tractor.

The seizure occurred Thursday morning. A U.S. Customs inspector working beyond the primary booths referred a 1987 International tractor driven by Victor Carrizales, 52, a Mexican national from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, for a secondary examination. During the initial examination, Canine "Marco" alerted to the tractor's gas tanks. Upon further examination, inspectors discovered a total of 679 pounds of marijuana. The marijuana has an estimated street value of $679,000. Carrizales was arrested on federal charges of importation and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Carrizales is scheduled to make his initial appearance before a federal magistrate today.

Gene Garza, U.S. Customs Port Director, Laredo, congratulated the inspectors on making the drug find.

"Fiscal year 2003 has just barely begun and already our inspectors and canine enforcement officers have taken down a significant load of marijuana in the commercial processing environment," Garza said. "We continue to maintain our anti-terrorism focus under Alert Level Yellow but our heightened vigilance has also resulted in increased drug seizures."

In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2002, U.S. Customs inspectors, canine enforcement officers and special agents working at and between ports of entry from Brownsville to Del Rio to Austin have seized a total of 342,747 pounds of narcotics, up 25 percent from the 273,387 pounds of narcotics seized during the same period in fiscal year 2001.