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Border Patrol Agents Seize 5,059 Pounds of Marijuana Worth $4 Million

June 29, 2009 - Laredo, Texas – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Hebbronville station stopped an attempt to smuggle more than two and half tons of marijuana this weekend.

Early Saturday morning, agents performed an immigration inspection of the driver of a tractor pulling an oilfield service tank that drove into the immigration inspection station located south of Hebbronville on Highway 1017. During the inspection, a Border Patrol canine team detected the possible presence of hidden people or contraband in the tank.

Agents searched the tank and found a false compartment built into the bottom. Inside the compartment agents found 205 cellophane-wrapped bundles. The bundles contained marijuana with a total weight of 5,059 pounds and an estimated street value of $4 million.

Lack of security measures adds to the Carrier's Liability!

Jayson P. Ahern, Customs’ acting commissioner, said, “Failure to comply with reasonable security measures leads to vulnerabilities that are simply unacceptable.”

The government said operators of vehicles entering the country must give Customs agents “a manifest that accurately identifies all merchandise onboard the vehicle. A violation of this section mandates the imposition of civil monetary penalties.”

Freight carriers must take seriously their obligations under the law to prevent the use of their vehicles to smuggle narcotics and other contraband,” said Karen P. Hewitt, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.

The government insisted on some penalty for negligence, however, saying that once the freight carrier submitted the advance cargo manifest (AMS), it was responsible for the document’s accuracy.

There is a new BOSS in town!

March, 2009: Secretary Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security states: "I believe DHS has a straightforward mission: to protect the American people from threats both foreign and domestic, both natural and manmade. To do all that we can to prevent threats from materializing, respond to them if they do, and recover with resiliency."

She furthermore added that she didn't believe the DHS would meet Congress's 2012 deadline to have all ocean containers scanned at foreign ports before being shipped to the U.S.

Jayson P. Ahern assumed the No. 2. position in Customs & Border Protection

On March 1, 2009, Jayson P. Ahern was named Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, following the retirement of Commissioner W. Ralph Basham, and is responsible for securing, managing and controlling our Nation’s borders. Mr. Ahern will remain Acting Commissioner until a successor is named by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate.

Since August 2007, Mr. Ahern has served as CBP’s Deputy Commissioner, the highest career position in the agency. During his interim appointment as Acting Commissioner, Mr. Ahern will continue to serve as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the daily operations of CBP’s 53,000 employee workforce and managing an operating budget of over $11 billion. Mr. Ahern’s primary focus will be keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country, while also carrying out CBP’s other border-related responsibilities, including stemming the tide of illegal drugs and illegal aliens, securing and facilitating legitimate global trade and travel, and protecting our food supply and agriculture industry from pests and disease.

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