CBP seizes $600K in cocaine

U.S. Custom and Border Protection has arrested a Brownsville man accused of trying to smuggle $596,000 in cocaine through an international bridge, said an agency press release.

Andy Ochoa, 18, was arrested Tuesday afternoon at B&M International Bridge and later charged with possession of a controlled substance.

On Wednesday morning, Ochoa went before a U.S. magistrate judge who ordered that he be held without bond pending a detention hearing next week.

The arrest took place when Ochoa drove a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta to an inspection booth at the bridge and was referred to a secondary inspection area, CBP said.

At the secondary inspection area, CBP officers used Cheka, a narcotics detecting canine, to confirm the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, the agency said.

The officers discovered a compartment in the rear bumper of the vehicle and found seven packages containing 18 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of $596,000, CBP said.