Cocaine seized at Paso Del Norte by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on April 17 has stopped nearly 100 pounds of narcotics from entering the United States. The discovery was made at the Paso Del Norte international crossing in El Paso, where officers intercepted 94.5 pounds of cocaine concealed in a car driven by a 29-year-old woman from Mexico.
The bust began just after 10 a.m. when a 2018 Nissan Sentra approached the crossing from Mexico. A single CBP officer working the primary inspection booth noticed irregularities in the vehicle’s appearance. Acting on instinct and experience, the officer referred the car to a secondary inspection area for a more thorough examination.
At secondary inspection, CBP officers used a nonintrusive x-ray system, which revealed suspicious anomalies in the floor of the vehicle. A drug-sniffing dog was brought in to examine the car, and it quickly alerted officers to the likely presence of narcotics.
Following this alert, officers conducted a detailed search of the vehicle and discovered 36 tightly wrapped bundles hidden inside a floor compartment. Tests confirmed that the packages contained cocaine.
CBP officers took the woman into custody on the spot. She was later transferred to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and will face charges related to drug smuggling.
“The attention to detail demonstrated by a single CBP officer resulted in this seizure,” said CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio. “Because of the efforts of the CBP workforce, a large amount of cocaine did not reach its intended destination. That’s a win for us all.”
This case highlights the vital role that vigilance, experience, and advanced detection tools play in protecting U.S. borders. Thanks to swift action, another major attempt to smuggle drugs into the country was stopped before it could succeed.
18 April 2025
