HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — A pickup full of drugs from Mexico splashed down in the Rio Grande near Harlingen, Border Patrol officials said.
The truck was seen being loaded onto a makeshift raft constructed from wooden pallets and 55-gallon drums on Wednesday evening, Border Patrol said Friday.
Agents said the truck was successfully floated across the Rio Grande and off loaded onto U.S. soil. Then it was driven at a high speed through a gap in the border wall.
“The truck then returned to the river crossing point and drove directly into the water,” according to an agency news release.
Agents reported multiple people swimming in the river to recover several bundles of drugs from the submerged truck. The bundles were then floated back to Mexico.
U.S. Border Patrol agents say they recovered five bundles of marijuana that had floated downriver from Las Rusias, a colonia in Cameron County.
Border Patrol’s Search Trauma and Rescue unit (BORSTAR) has been called to conduct a diver assessment and possible retrieval of any drugs from the truck.
“This operation showcases the lengths to which criminal organizations will go to smuggle narcotics into our country,” Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said. “Our agents remain vigilant and committed to preventing these dangerous drugs from reaching American families. The innovative tactics we observed here underscore the importance of our ongoing border security efforts.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.