Posted on 11/11/2007 12:04:00 PM PST by AuntB
CALEXICO, Calif. -- About 8.85 tons of suspected pot worth an estimated $67 million was seized at the Calexico port of entry, federal agents reported Saturday.
The contraband was seized Friday, co-mingled with shipments of flat panel television sets, said David de la Peza of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A tractor-trailer truck was in the Free and Secure Trade entry lane at about 4:20 p.m. Friday when drug-sniffing dogs alerted officers, de la Peza said.
Officers discovered 1,019 large packages containing 17,701 pounds of suspected pot among the TVs.
The accused smuggler is a 25-year-old Mexican and registered participant in the FAST program, he said.
FAST is an agreement between Mexico, Canada and the United States to expedite trade. "Low-risk" drivers must submit an application and agree to a security profile.
The cache and tractor-trailer were seized by federal agents, who booked the driver into the Imperial County Jail.
And so it begins...
Come on. He’s only smuggling in the pot that Americans won’t smuggle in. I blame Ron Paul’s candidacy, LOL! ;)
“The accused smuggler is a 25-year-old Mexican and registered participant in the FAST program, he said.
FAST is an agreement between Mexico, Canada and the United States to expedite trade.
“Low-risk” drivers must submit an application and agree to a security profile.”
With The Trans Texas toll road, just think this poor driver would never be caught. /S
Seems obvious. Trusted low risk driver in the FAST program caught smuggling illegal drugs from Mexico into the US.
What I would like to know is “which country conducted the security check?”
If it was Mexico, then how much is the going rate for a clean record?
Bush’s fault.
You mean drug smuggling across the border has begun?
I doubt either one are doing much checking.....payoffs are the norm for everything in Mexico.
Which means that the folks who have been arguing all along that these trucks will travel unimpeded into the U.S. have to explain how this truck (and trucker) managed to get caught.
get caught or why he thought he wouldn’t? That’s the more important question...
Seeing that U.S. Customs announced the seizure, care to take a guess?
I think it’s safe to say that 100% of the drug smugglers driving trucks into the U.S. do so with the expectation that they will not be caught.
“You mean drug smuggling across the border has begun?”
Drug smuggling has begun? ...Of course not.
But what is new is the increased opportunity for getting drugs safely across the border.
“Fast lane” implies to me that the random checks and searches will not be quite as frequent as in the other lanes.
It’s too bad a single bad apple will taint an otherwise good program (/s).
At about 4:20 p.m.? How cliché.
there was never a doubt
How FAST will the cartel replace him?
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