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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