Border Patrol Officers Avert "Booby Traps" In NM, Seize Drugs

Border Patrol agents encountered "booby traps" in southern New Mexico and foiled 14 attempts to smuggle approximately 2,900 pounds of narcotics in separate seizures. The busy weekend was ominous as Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Lordsburg Station made 10 different seizures, including the significant seizure of 477 pounds of marijuana. Agents in Lordsburg utilized the latest enforcement technology to watch a group of drug smugglers as they walked north near Rodeo, NM. After responding to the area, Agents came upon 11 abandoned burlap backpacks full of narcotics, weighing 477 pounds. The total amount of the load is estimated to be valued at more than $382,000. The smugglers who carried the burlap sacks apparently absconded back into Mexico. This seizure was followed by nine other attempts to smuggle a total of 2,270 pounds of marijuana in various locations in New Mexico. The value of those loads is approximately $1,820,000. Meanwhile, Agents from Deming Station had their hands full dealing with suspected smugglers after they appeared to have set barbwire "booby traps" in roadways along the border. Regardless of the terror tactic, agents still managed to thwart three attempts to smuggle narcotics into the United States in that area. The traps that were found contained a suspended strand of barbwire stretched approximately four feet above the ground, across a dirt road, where agents routinely ride all-terrain vehicle's (ATV's)...more