see also: in March 2002:   U.S. Customs Inspection Results in the Seizure of 160 Pounds of Cocaine   U.S. Customs Inspectors Seize a Quarter of a Million Dollars in Hidalgo; Two Arrested   Customs Officers Seize 58,925 Tablets of Ecstasy And Arrest Man at Miami International Airport   U.S. Customs, 10 Foreign Countries, Serve Multiple Search Warrants on Internet Child Pornography Ring   U.S. Customs Inspectors in Eagle Pass Make Seven Marijuana Seizures in 72 Hours   U.S. Customs Service Inspectors Seize 298 Pounds of Cocaine in Port of Miami   U.S. Customs Inspectors in Roma Seize $3.8 Million in Cocaine Over Five-Day Period ...more

contacts for this news release

El Paso, Texas - U.S. Customs Service inspectors performing level one alert status anti-terrorism inspections at the Bridge of the Americas cargo facility seized 2,362 pounds of marijuana late Thursday afternoon. The seized drugs, which were hidden in a tractor-trailer, have an estimated street value of $2,362,000.

"Some of the very high technology tools U.S. Customs inspectors demonstrated when Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner visited the facility on Wednesday were instrumental in this seizure being made," said P.T. Wright, U.S. Customs Service Director of Field Operations in West Texas and New Mexico.

The seizure was made when a 1985 International tractor-trailer entered the cargo facility from Mexico. Customs inspectors performing an enforcement operation selected the vehicle for an intensive examination and directed the driver to the VACIS gamma-ray examination station. Customs inspectors scanned the vehicle and detected a dense area consistent with hidden contraband in the front of the empty trailer. Customs drug sniffing dog "Max" alerted to the front wall of the trailer. A laser range finder indicated that there was a 32-inch discrepancy in the interior and exterior length of the trailer.

U.S. Customs inspectors probed the front wall of the trailer and produced a green leafy substance which tested positive for marijuana. Inspectors removed a total of 319 marijuana-filled bundles from the hidden compartment. Customs special agents interviewed and released the driver of the truck. The investigation is continuing.

In addition to the 2,363-pound marijuana seizure, U.S. Customs Service officers working in El Paso, West Texas and New Mexico made 62 other drug seizures this week, confiscating 4,936 pounds of marijuana and 22.5 pounds of cocaine. They also apprehended 15 wanted individuals, recovered three stolen vehicles, identified three export violations, and seized 77 pounds of smuggled cheese while performing level one alert status anti-terrorism inspections.