It seemed like another routine day at the US-Mexico border crossing in Laredo. Friday, at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge a truckload of baby wipes pulled into the yard for inspections. The truck was hauling a 2016 Stoughton trailer.

Alert border guards decided that the truckload of baby wipes needed a second look. So, the canines were deployed and a "non-intrusive" inspection found a total of 1,935 packages.  Unfortunately, 1,533 of them were not baby wipes.

It was cocaine.

Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
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The cocaine was valued at 11.8 million dollars. According to a press prelease issued by Alberto Flories, the port director for the Laredo Port of Entry:

"Officers assigned to CBP cargo facilities ensure effective border security by preventing and countering the flow of suspected narcotics entering the country. This seizure is a prime example of border security management and how it helps prevent dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities,"

Officials estimate that narcotics slipping in from the border frequently pass through cities all through Texas, including San Angelo. US Highway 83 is a major drug route from Laredo to points north.  Highway 83 crosses our area from Junction northward to Menard, Eden, Ballinger and northward to Abilene.

Border officials often check vehicles entering the US very closely for hidden narcotics. There are even checkpoints inside the U.S. in South Texas running northward from the border. Some of those checkpoints add extra travel time and inconvenience law abiding citizens, but border officials say the extra security is necessary.

You have to think that using baby wipes as a cover seemed like a good plan. Let's just hope new parents out there aren't getting baby wipes with cocaine residue on them. 

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