Posted on 11/20/2007 5:21:01 AM PST by Terabitten
Calexico, Calif. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico, Calif. east commercial facility detained a Mexican truck driver after they discovered 8.85 tons of marijuana commingled with a shipment of television screens at the port Friday afternoon, Port Director Billy Whitford said today.
The 25-year-old driver, a resident of Mexicali, was registered in the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program and was driving a 1992 GMC tractor-trailer with a shipment manifested as flat screen televisions.
As the truck waited in line to enter the U.S. through the FAST lane at about 4:20 p.m., CBP canine officers conducted a pre-primary operation when a narcotic detector dog alerted to the shipment.
Inspection of the truck through a non-intrusive gamma-ray system later revealed images with anomalies within the shipment. Upon opening the doors, several large packages fell out of the trailer.
Regarded as the largest marijuana load ever for the Calexico port of entry, officers discovered 1,019 large packages of marijuana for a total of 17,701.07 pounds, valued at about $67,264,000.
The tractor-trailer and marijuana were seized by CBP and the driver was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and booked into Imperial County jail to await arraignment. ICE investigation is continuing.
FAST is a Border Accord Initiative between the United States, Mexico and Canada designed to ensure security and safety of trans-border commercial shipments, while enhancing economic prosperity of both countries.
Eligibility for the FAST program requires participants (carrier, drivers, importers, and southern border manufacturers) to submit an application, agreement and security profile. The FAST program allows known low risk commercial shipments to receive expedited border processing at cargo ports of entry.
"This significant seizure demonstrates our commitment to keeping America safe, not only from terrorists and their weapons, but safe from narcotics and the damage they create," Whitford said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
CBP Ping.
FReepmail me to get on or off of this low volume Customs & Border Protection ping list.
9 Tons.......uh, 7 tons..........5 tons..........a truckload..........couple of O-Zees.........
El Presidente Jorge wants to open the border for more Mexican trucks.
I’ll have a q.p. of Panama Red and a flat screen to go!
Meaningless.
Heh-heh-heh.......what?................
Way do they always wrap it so nicely?...............
They have a commitment to retail excellence and noted on their customer comment cards that presentation was a big issue with their customers. Also, it is an attempt to cover the smell. The attempt failed.
They want to do exactly the same thing for airline passengers. Fingerprints, backgound check, etc, and you get expedited processing at the airports.
This demonstrates what can happen -- the bad guys will use the method of least scrutiny.
at 4:20 eh?
Not to those of us who are working very hard, every day, to keep terrorists and drugs out of this country, off our streets, and out of your neighborhood.
Yeah. Calexico is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (IIRC), so the actual time of day doesn't really mean much to the guys working there.
Does this mean the ‘free roads program’ is now hand in hand with the open borders program? If these types of crackdowns continue will the shootings become more frequent? Wait don’t tell me...I think I know the answer.
Don’t underestimate the disconnect between the guys working in the trenches and their leadership.
Wow! Who could have seen this coming? Free and Secure Trade is so inherently good I’m sure this is just a fluke and will never ever, ever happen again. Certainly this will be the only time that the Mexican truck drivers will try to smuggle something across the border besides, it’s really the border patrol’s fault. They are not supposed to look so close.
It’s pretty hard to cover the smell of 9 tons of pot............perhaps they should have used Ozium......
you are correct, our people in the trenches are shot at or jailed if a drug dealer is arrested....something smells.
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