U.S. border guards find cannabis in the can

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Agents for Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol (RGV) exploring a migrant stash house in Roma, Texas earlier this week found a little something extra in the home: 15 bundles of cannabis.

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While searching the residence on Dec. 20, the officers found almost 170 pounds (77.1 kilograms) of marijuana, estimated to be worth US$135,500 ($174,795), hidden inside a restroom shower. Beyond the cannabis, the RGV also seized a vehicle suspected of transporting the narcotics, notes a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Two migrants — a man from Guatemala and a woman from Honduras — found inside the residence were both unlawfully present in the U.S., the CBP reports.

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The seizure was among four confiscations involving cannabis smuggling over a three-day period. In the Texas communities of Roma, Los Indios and Brownsville, the CBP notes 560-plus pounds (254 kg) of marijuana worth more than US$450,000 ($580,500) was seized during the unrelated incidents.

Migrant smuggling into the U.S. has increasingly been on the CBP’s radar.

With regard to southwest border enforcement in November, “the large number of expulsions during the pandemic has contributed to a higher than usual number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts,” according to figures from the CBP. The number of unique individuals encountered last month was 127,653, up 10 per cent from the prior month.

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Just today, the service tweeted that border patrol agents had intercepted three human smuggling attempts in a 24-hour period, resulting in 70-plus migrants being arrested, a stolen tractor-trailer being recovered and US$2,000 worth of meth being seized.

Illegal drugs, with cannabis accounting for the greatest portion, also continue to be a focus for the CBP. In November alone, agents and officers seized more than 26,601 pounds (12,066 kg) of the substance.

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As for other drugs, cocaine seizures increased 41 per cent in November compared to October, methamphetamine confiscations rose 164 per cent over that period, heroin interdictions were up 12 per cent and fentanyl seizures increased seven per cent.

“Nationwide, drug seizures were up 90 per cent in November over the prior month, as CBP eased travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers,” the agency reports.

“CBP’s drug seizures are indicative of the increasingly efficient layered enforcement approach — a multi-faceted approach that includes various technologies, inspections, canine sweeps, and secondary exams — that disrupt cross-border criminal activity,” the statement adds.

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