January was a busy month for U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents. 

The first two busts came back-to-back on Jan. 13 at the World Trade Bridge connecting Laredo, Texas to Nuevo Laredo Tamaulipas, Mexico. There, officers found 2,211 pounds of marijuana hidden inside a commercial scrap metal shipment. Hours later, they found another 1,496 pounds hidden inside a tractor trailer.  

The marijuana combined weighed nearly two tons and was worth an estimated $741,363.

Further down the Texas-Mexico border, agents found 138.4 pounds of methamphetamine at the Progreso Port of Entry, valued at $2.76 million on Jan. 16. 

The next day at the same port of entry, agents stopped a man driving a Honda and found 75 pounds of heroin ($1.7 million street value) and 15 pounds of cocaine ($114,920 street value). 

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Agents with the Zapata Station Marine Unit came across a suspicious boat and a white truck near one of the landings at Falcon Lake on Nov. 28. The driver got into the boat and agents found 913 pounds of marijuana in the truck, with an estimated street value of $729,868.

On Nov. 30, agents at the Zapata Station found abandoned bundles of marijuana just north of Zapata. A total of 24 bundles were seized, weighing 541 pounds. It had an estimated street value of $432,896.

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Mother tries to smuggle meth in baby’s clothes

A 19-year-old mother from Brownsville disqualified herself for the mother-of-the-year award after allegedly hiding methamphetamine under her child’s clothing. Agents found 7.1 pounds of meth with an estimated street value of $141,976 after searching her at the Brownsville Port of Entry on Aug. 3. 

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That horse shampoo wasn’t fooling Border Protection canine units. 

The patrol dogs alerted agents to the liquid methamphetamine on July 24, when two people in a Jeep Wrangler tried to cross the Texas-Mexico border at Eagle Cross. 

Agents seized 69 pounds of liquid meth, which had an estimated street value of $662,400. The driver and the passenger were arrested. 

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents found nearly $5 million worth of methamphetamine when they searched two trucks on June 30. One truck was hauling jalapeños and the other was hauling cucumbers. The drivers were stopped at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility, about 10 miles south of McAllen.

Officers found 240 packages of meth in the truck carrying jalapeños, weighing about 132 pounds. The street value of the drugs was about $2.65 million.

In the truck hauling cucumbers, officers found 194 packages of meth, weighing about 107 pounds. The street value of those narcotics was about $2.14 million.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents found 4,064 pounds of marijuana hidden in 528 boxes of limes on Aug. 5.

The suspected narcotics were discovered when a white freightliner tractor carrying limes was inspected at the Pharr International Bridge on the Rio Grande River.

The limes, like other food recovered by agents in smuggling operations, was donated to a food bank.

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If real limes won’t do the trick, you can bet that packages that look like limes won’t work either. But alas, some dealers thought Texas border agents wouldn’t notice if they wrapped 2,575 pounds of marijuana in paper that resembled the citrus fruit. 

It didn’t work.

Officers ended up seizing 515 packages of marijuana, which have an estimated street value of $515,000, on Jan. 15 at the Pharr International Bridge. 

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Perhaps the most creative drug smuggling attempt across the Texas-Mexico border this year, border agents found marijuana hidden in carrot-shaped packages. The smugglers even put the marijuana-filled carrots in a big rig with real carrots. 

It wasn’t enough to stop agents however, who found 2,817 packages of marijuana, for an estimated street value of $500,000 on Jan. 10 at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility. 

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Smugglers at least try to keep marijuana with healthy foods, right?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Pharr found 766 pounds of marijuana in a shipment of fresh broccoli on March 22. The drugs were seized and valued at $153.000.

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Some smugglers will do everything they can to get away from authorities. Case in point: the “reckless smuggler” U.S. Customs and Border Protection say he drove his truck into the Rio Grande River on Oct. 26. The agency said the driver floated the truck across the river and into Mexico. 

Once the truck crossed, the driver fled while people picked up bundles from the pickup bed truck. 

A border patrol dive team eventually removed the truck from the river, recovering seven bundles of marijuana from inside the cab of the truck. 

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You should always smile in a picture, unless it’s your mugshot. Ashanty Guerra, 19, didn’t seem to care she was being arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle almost 80 pounds of marijuana. Her accomplice, Jessica Guerra, 20, also smirked in her mugshot.

Harlingen police officers arrested the duo on Jan. 22 on second-degree felony charges of possession of marijuana. 

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A car driving below the speed limit is a tip to police that the driver may be trying to hide something.

A driver carrying multiple cellphones, especially if there’s only one or two people in the car, is another hint. Police say smugglers often carry several phones as they stay in contact with the dealer and various middle men.

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Illegal drugs are often hidden in various parts of a car. Specific tools are sometimes needed to get into those areas. A driver with specialty tools that otherwise wouldn’t belong in the car may be a hint.

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Multiple religious stickers or paraphernalia could be a tip to law enforcement that someone is trying to hide illicit drugs.

As with religious items, too many pro-law enforcement stickers may be seen by police as an attempt disguise what is actually happening in the car.

That older car with the new tires and shine? Yeah, police may see it as an attempt to blend a drug toting vehicle in with normal traffic.

Rental vehicles are popular with drug smugglers. But, too many don’t have the paperwork in order or don’t list the driver as the renter of the car. Both of those are key tips to police.

Many illicit drugs have an odor (heroin has a heavy chemical smell, for example). Smugglers try to mask the smell with potpourri, hanging air fresheners or perfume. Police will take too much of a good thing as a sign to search the car.

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During traffic stops, police generally like to approach the stopped car and have the driver stay seated. Moving toward a police officer first and quickly during a traffic stop is a recipe to get searched, and potentially hurt.

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