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Marijuana, meth, e-cigarettes seized at Texas ports

$3.6M in drugs and unauthorized e-cigarettes found in shipments of stone, plastic goods from China and Mexico

Drugs and unauthorized e-cigarettes were found by US Customs and Border Protection officials in shipments of goods from China and Mexico. (Photo: CBP)

More than $3.6 million in marijuana, methamphetamine and unauthorized e-cigarettes were seized from Texas ports during three recent incidents.

The first case occurred in late December when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 42 separate e-cigarette shipments arriving from China destined for various Texas counties.

The shipments included 33,681 individual disposable flavored e-cigarette cartridges resembling name brand products “that did not meet the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requirements,” according to CBP officials. The e-cigarette cartridges have a retail value of $719,453.

“Many counterfeit and unapproved products are likely produced in unregulated facilities with unverified ingredients posing a serious health concern to consumers,” said CBP Dallas Port Director Timothy Lemaux. 


The second case occurred Wednesday when CBP officers discovered 661 packages containing 709 pounds of marijuana in a tractor at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas.

The tractor was hauling a shipment of plastic household articles from Mexico. The narcotics have an estimated street value of $141,799.

The third case occurred Friday at the World Trade Bridge when officers found 24 packages containing more than 140 pounds of methamphetamine in a truck hauling a shipment of stone handicrafts from Mexico. The narcotics have a street value of $2.8 million.

CBP seized the trucks and narcotics. The cases were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.


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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com