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.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.
More articles by Noi Mahoney
DHL Supply Chain closing Texas facility
