HIDALGO, Texas — U.S. customs officials seized $339,300 worth of fentanyl at the Texas-Mexico border on Wednesday, authorities said.
According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the narcotics were confiscated at the Hidalgo International Bridge.
Officers assigned to the bridge encountered a vehicle crossing the border from Mexico and selected it for inspection, the release stated. After physically inspecting the vehicle, officers discovered nine packages containing 22 pounds of alleged fentanyl.
Customs officers seized the narcotics and the vehicle. The case remains under investigation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI).
“Our CBP officers use all available tools and resources to identify and extract narcotics with caution,” Carlos Rodriguez, port director for Hidalgo, said in a statement. “It is vital to the safety of our officers that we be able to identify what type of narcotic we are dealing with, as a small amount of fentanyl can be fatal.”
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