Local News

730 Pounds of Marijuana Found Along the South Padre Coast

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Tony Maples Photography

 

It was a group effort on October 13th when officers heard that a boat docked to meet a truck along the coast in the hotel district of South Padre Island after it had made its way from Mexico with hundreds of pounds of marijuana. Game wardens working alongside the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department were joined by officials from the Coast Guard and Homeland Security while making their way to the scene to bust the illegal activity at 4:30 in the morning.

According to KSAT, as soon as the criminals saw the authority figures, they took off in the water. They were followed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as they headed back toward Mexico, but their small boat capsized. Five people were arrested after they were rescued out of the Gulf of Mexico.

Authorities were able to catch up to the truck driver who was holding the 17 bundles of marijuana. The Houston Chronicle says that the bundles weight 730 pounds in total, and officers seized the truck as well. Game Warden Craig Hunter said in a statement, “The illegal trafficking of narcotics will not be tolerated in the state of Texas and activities like this that are blatantly conducted in areas frequented by sportsmen and tourists will be dealt with immediately.”