February 12, 2008  Highway 281, Texas
Border Patrol at checkpoint finds 5,701 pounds of marijuana inside of tractor trailer full of pineapples

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents seized over four million dollars in marijuana at the Falfurrias checkpoint. The driver was arrested.

The seizure occurred Tuesday, when Border Patrol agents assigned to the Falfurrias Border Patrol Traffic Checkpoint located on U.S. Highway 281, questioned the driver of a tractor-trailer as to his citizenship. While questioning the driver, a Border Patrol canine performing a free air sniff of the exterior area of the trailer, alerted to the presence of concealed humans or drugs. The driver was directed to the secondary inspection area where a search of the trailer led to the discovery of 132 bundles of marijuana hidden within a load of pineapples. The total weight of the marijuana was 5,701 pounds with an estimated value of $4,560,800. The driver, a thirty-three year old U.S. Citizen from El Paso, Texas was arrested.

The driver, marijuana, and tractor-trailer were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending further investigation.

Source: US Customs/Border Patrol