Texas Department of Public Safety special agents pulled more than 153 pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and a synthetic stimulant out of a commercial truck at the Laredo Port of Entry earlier this week, with the fentanyl alone amounting to more than 19,868,181 potentially lethal doses, authorities say. Two men who were riding in the truck, 53-year-old Ernesto Jaime of Wisconsin and 51-year-old Enrique Ramirez Valle of Oklahoma, are now facing felony possession charges in Webb County.
According to WOAI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers requested DPS assistance at the Laredo Port of Entry. Jaime was driving and Ramirez Valle was riding as a passenger when agents conducted a secondary inspection, per officials, that turned up the drugs. The Texas Department of Public Safety says its Criminal Investigations Division special agents responded to the request from CBP officers around 7 a.m. on Tuesday and formally adopted the case after the search, arresting both men.
What Agents Found Inside The Truck
Per the same account, the inspection turned up 94 pounds of fentanyl, 26 pounds of methamphetamine, 18 pounds of heroin and 15 pounds of eutylone, a synthetic stimulant. Authorities put the combined street value of the seized drugs at more than $1.4 million. Jaime and Ramirez Valle were both charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and booked into the Webb County Jail.
The eutylone found alongside the opioids and methamphetamine is a synthetic cathinone stimulant classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Public health researchers writing for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that synthetic cathinones have been sold as MDMA; the report also discusses overdose risks from counterfeit tablets and risks associated with multiple stimulants.
Facing Decades In Prison Under Texas Law
Under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 481.115, possessing over 400 grams of Penalty Group 1 controlled substances — including methamphetamine and heroin — is an enhanced first-degree felony, according to McCarty-Larson PLLC. That charge carries a punishment range of 10 to 99 years or life in prison, along with fines up to $100,000. Fentanyl is classified under Penalty Group 1-B and is covered by the separate possession statute, Section 481.1151, the firm notes.
The bust adds to a running tally for Operation Lone Star, the state's border security initiative. As of March, Texas law enforcement had seized over 870 million lethal doses of fentanyl statewide under the operation, according to the Office of the Governor of Texas, which calculates lethal-dose equivalents using the federal standard of two milligrams as a fatal dose.
Why Laredo Remains A Prime Target
The World Trade Port of Entry at the World Trade International Bridge opened in 2000 specifically to separate heavy freight from passenger vehicles, per Wikipedia.
