see also: in October 2003:   Port of Otay Mesa Cargo Facility to Test Expanded Hours   CBP Officers Seize 3,149 Pounds of Marijuana at Otay Mesa   CBP Border Patrol Aid Local Law Enforcement Agencies With San Diego Wildfires   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Appoints Director For the Office of Trade Relations   4th Annual Trade Symposium to be Held November 20 & 21   U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Open Vacancy for Officer Positions Nationwide ...more on cbp.gov:   Press Officers   CBP News Releases

contacts for this news release

El Paso, Texas - Within the last two days, U.S. Border Patrol agents in west Texas and southern New Mexico intercepted two separate drug loads of marijuana that were brought across the United States/Mexico border on horseback. The combined weight of the marijuana was more than 790 pounds with an estimated value of more than $633,000.

Yesterday, agents in Lordsburg, New Mexico discovered 423 pounds of marijuana after following tracks of three horses near Doyle Peak, southeast of Hatchita, New Mexico. The tracks led northwest toward NM Highway 81, where agents picked up the trail on all-terrain vehicles (ATV's). The agents deployed a Border Patrol canine to perform an open field search. The canine located a total of 10 bundles of contraband wrapped in nylon sacks and covered with brush. The bundles were transported to the Border Patrol Station in Lordsburg. The drug smugglers and horses returned back to Mexico. The estimated value of the marijuana is $338,784. The contraband was turned over to the Southwest New Mexico Task Force.

On Monday, agents in Fort Hancock, Texas encountered a similar scenario in which drug smugglers used a horse caravan in an attempt to get marijuana into the United States from Mexico. Agents found footprints that had illegally entered the United States south of a paved road approximately 15 miles east of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. They followed the footprints that led to two horses tied to a small tree. Several cellophane-wrapped bundles inside duffle bags were strapped to the horses. The bundles contained 368 pounds of marijuana, valued at $294,464. Agents followed the footprints of the horseback riders back to the international border with Mexico. The contraband was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force. The U.S. Department of Agriculture accepted custody of the horses.

To date in fiscal year 2004 (Beginning October 1), agents in the El Paso Border Patrol Sector have made 82 drug seizures valued at $11.5 million.

The Border Patrol is a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for managing and securing our Nation's borders.