Pharr, Texas—Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Pharr International Bridge seized over $800,000 worth of heroin this past weekend.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening, January 20, after a black 2003 Cadillac Escalade driven by a 26-year-old United States citizen from Bronx, New York arrived at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. The driver presented his U.S. passport and was referred to secondary for further inspection. During the process of inspecting the vehicle officers discovered six packages weighing approximately 3.80 kilograms (8.37 pounds) of alleged heroin which were concealed within the vehicle’s battery. CBP seized the narcotics which have an estimated street value of $837,000 and the vehicle.

The adult male was arrested and released to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents for further investigation.

“This was another compact but significant seizure of hard narcotics our officers intercepted this weekend,” said Efrain Solis Jr., Port Director, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. “This method of smuggling narcotics has become more prevalent within our bridges but our officers have once again foiled another failed attempt.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.