U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 425 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $8.5 million during three separate seizures at the Texas border over the weekend and into Monday.

The first seizure occurred on April 12 when CBP officers assigned to the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility contacted a driver for a commercial shipment of honeydew melons. Officers later found 304 pounds of methamphetamine concealed within the trailer. CBP seized the shipment and referred the driver to investigators of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The street value of the methamphetamine seized was estimated at $6,085,000, according to a media release.

The second seizure occurred on April 14 when officers assigned to the Hidalgo International Bridge contacted a 25-year-old male Mexican citizen from Reynosa, Tamaulipas. During secondary inspection, a CBP K-9 led to the discovery of 40 packages concealed within the vehicle, containing 51 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1 million. The drugs and vehicle were seized, and the male driver turned over to the custody of HSI investigators.

The final seizure occurred on April 15 when CBP officers working the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge in Laredo, Texas, contacted a 35-year old male driver from Nuevo Laredo, driving a 2001 Jeep Cherokee. The driver was referred for a secondary inspection where a K-9 alerted to 63 packages of methamphetamine weighing 70 pounds with an estimated street value of $1,410,944.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com