Customs and Border Protection officers at the El Paso Paso Del Norte port of entry hit a major snag in a drug trafficker's plans on May 4 when they seized a hefty 70.4 pounds of methamphetamine. The drugs were ingeniously hidden inside a vehicle driven by a 55-year-old woman, a U.S. citizen, who had her teen grandchild in tow at the time of this not-so-routine encounter.
In what seems to be a trend that borders on the bizarre, grandparents have been caught using family as a front for their smuggling operations. "This is not the first time CBP has encountered grandparents smuggling drugs while traveling with family members," said CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio, according to a CBP press release. Skilled in the art of camouflage, these traffickers are attempting to fade into the stream of legitimate traffic to evade the law's piercing gaze.
The bust went down just before noon on a seemingly calm Sunday, when a 2006 Honda Accord with the two passengers entered the port from Mexico. A sharp-eyed CBP officer flagged the car for a more thorough check after noting something amiss—a bundle visible in the vehicle's rear quarter panel.
Aided by a CBP canine unit, which signaled the hit on narcotics, and a Z-Portal x-ray scan revealing vehicle abnormalities, the officers conducted a diligent examination that led to the discovery of 57 bundles crammed with drugs. The driver was promptly arrested and handed over to Texas Department of Public Safety to confront her charges resulting from the foiled smuggling try.
