see also: in April 2008:   U. S. Customs and Border Protection Seizes $1.3 Million Worth of Counterfeit Cigarettes   Border Patrol Launches Rhode Island Search   Border Patrol Agent Search Launches in Atlanta   Two Weeks = Two Tons of Marijuana Seized at Arizona Port of Entry   CBP Officers in Texas Find $3 Million Worth of Dope in 'Empty' Sea Container   New Jersey CBP Officers Make $4 Million Heroin Candy Bar Bust   Border Patrol Agents Locate More Than Half Ton of Marijuana ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Laredo, Texas – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Hebbronville station seized 1,434.8 pounds of marijuana very early today.

Just after midnight, a pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer drove into the Border Patrol checkpoint located on a Texas highway south of Hebbronville.

As an agent conducted an immigration inspection of the driver, a Border Patrol canine alerted toward equipment on the flatbed trailer, indicating the possible presence of hidden people or narcotics.

Agents searched the equipment and discovered 86 cellophane-wrapped bundles in a compartment located on the bottom of the machinery. The bundles had been covered with a layer of oily mud in an apparent attempt to conceal them.

The bundles contained marijuana with a total weight of 1,434.8 pounds and an estimated street value of $1,147,840.

The driver, the trailer and the drugs were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

This seizure was the second significant marijuana smuggling attempt thwarted by Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents within a six-hour period Tuesday night. Earlier in the evening, agents assigned to the Laredo North station seized 1,526.8 pounds of marijuana from a tractor-trailer at the Border Patrol checkpoint located on Interstate Highway 35 north of Laredo.

To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free telephone number at 1-800-343-1994.

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.