Two Texas teens busted trying to smuggle $1 million worth of weed were caught by the U.S. Border Patrol. On February 22, agents from the Fort Brown Border Patrol Station were on duty near the Rio Grande River. The two officers saw a vehicle leave the river bed at a high rate of speed. When the agents tried to stop the vehicle, the driver attempted to elude them. He then lost control and rolled the vehicle, according to reports.
More Than Half a Ton of Pot
Inside the vehicle, Border Patrol agents found 52 packages of marijuana. Altogether, the seized pot weighed in at more than 1,200 pounds. Officials estimated the street value of the weed to be nearly one million dollars.
Officers caught and arrested two teenagers at the site of the crash. One of those arrested is a juvenile. The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office has charged the two teens with narcotics smuggling.
Letisia Camarillo is the Agent in Charge of the Fort Brown Border Patrol Station. She said that last week’s arrests are another example of drug smuggling operations taking advantage of young people.
“Juveniles in our community are being exploited. They are making decisions that put themselves at risk and they don’t understand the consequences,” Camarillo said.
“Juveniles are viewed as cheap and disposable labor, a means for cartels to push their illicit product. They constantly recruit to replace kids that are arrested and prosecuted. It’s a horrific cycle and we need to come together to educate our children about the consequences.”
After the arrests, the Border Patrol turned the confiscated pot over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Will A Wall Stop The Weed?
President Trump has called for a wall to be built along our southern border with Mexico since the campaign trail. The wall, he says, would stem the flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants across the border.
Opponents of the president say a wall just won’t work. They might be right.
A former pot smuggler told the Texas Tribune that a wall would not have stopped his operation. The Starr County resident said he transported 50 tons of weed per year across the border over his career.
But he drove semi rigs right through Border Patrol checkpoints. Government records show he’s not alone. Most illegal drugs smuggled across the border come through legal ports of entry.
Another former smuggler also says building a wall won’t stop contraband from coming across the border. Norma Armendariz of Laredo raked in thousands of dollars bringing undocumented immigrants across the border.
Far too many Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are corrupt for a wall to work. She says it was easy to find someone willing to take a bribe.
Final Hit: Texas Teens Busted Trying To Smuggle $1 Million Worth of Weed
We don’t know how effective Trump’s wall will be. Especially with smugglers using aircrafts and tunnels to get their weed across the border. Construction companies have built prototype designs in San Diego for review by the Department of Homeland Security. The president has been pressuring Congress to provide funding for the massive project.
