(NewsNation) — It’s not just harmless gifts making their way through the ports of entry during the holiday season.
There are little surprises the cartel is taking advantage of in this busy time of year, disguising drugs in packages surrounded by holiday gifts arriving at busy ports.
In Brownsville, Texas, Customs and Border Patrol officers found 245 pounds of cocaine hidden inside a utility trailer driven by a 50-year-old man from Mexico who was attempting to bring it into the United States illegally.
Former Homeland Security investigation Special Agent Victor Avila told NewsNation the cartel is also testing any way possible to get their product and their people across illegally ahead of the next Trump administration.
“They’re transitioning right now, and they’re getting ready to make sure that their product, their human beings, their illicit activities, also make it through,” Avila said.
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said Monday that since October, the agency had seized over 14,000 pounds of cocaine totaling more than $356 million in worth.