CBP: Drugs hidden inside pallets of wooden flooring

U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested an elderly man accused of trying to smuggle more than $225,000 in marijuana hidden inside some pallets of wooden flooring, officials said.

Federico Hernandez Garza, 74, from Brownsville man was arrested at Gateway International Bridge on Monday and later charged by the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department with possession of marijuana, said a CBP press release.

The arrest took place when Hernandez drove a green 1995 Ford Aerostar to an inspection booth where a CBP officer noticed discrepancies in the two wooden pallets that were in the vehicle’s rear and referred him to a secondary inspection area, CBP said.

At the inspection area, CBP officers used a non-intrusive imaging system to scan the area of the anomalies in the two wooden pallets. Later, they brought in Gulliver, a narcotics detecting canine that sniffed through the wood flooring and confirmed the officers suspicions, the agency said.

CBP officers dismantled the flooring packages and found a hidden compartment inside each pallet. Inside the compartment, officers found 48 packages containing more than 225 pounds of marijuana hidden inside, the release said. The drugs have a street value of $225,000.

Garza was turned over to special agents with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement who investigated the seizure, but then turned the case over to the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office after the investigation didn’t meet their criteria for federal prosecution, the release said.