Lalrp.org:
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US customs officers in Texas found a number of kilos of a white substance hiding in a business ice cream maker, authorities say – and it wasn’t salt or sugar.
Officers working on the Bridge of the Americas cargo facility in El Paso seized 146 kilos of cocaine, in accordance with a information launch from the US Customs and Border Protection.
The packages of unlawful medicine have been discovered hid in a big ice cream machine that was being taken from Mexico to the US, in accordance with the discharge.
Officers seized the medicine on June 19, when a 1995 Ford F-150 pickup truck pushed by a 43-year-old Mexican man entered the port with the machine in tow, authorities stated Thursday.
An X-ray scan of the truck confirmed anomalies and a CBP canine searched the automobile.
A better inspection revealed 56 bundles of cocaine stashed inside the ice cream maker’s partitions, the discharge acknowledged.
“We estimate the worth of this drug seizure at $1.2 million,” CBP spokesperson Roger Maier advised in an e mail.
CBP officers seized the narcotics and automobile. The motive force was turned over to the Texas Division of Public Security, the place he faces state expenses linked to the alleged smuggling try.
“The overwhelming majority of business shipments CBP officers course of pose little threat, nevertheless seizures like this remind us all that medicine may be hid nearly anyplace and that we should stay always vigilant,” stated performing CBP El Paso port director Luis Mejia within the launch.
CBP has seized over 33,000 kilos of cocaine to this point in 2023. Final yr, officers seized over 70,200 kilos of the unlawful substance, data shows.
