Customs officers seize nearly $300,000 worth of marijuana

PROGRESO -- Customs officers seized about $284,000 worth of marijuana at two Hidalgo County border crossings Sunday.

Harlingen resident Erica Lynn Torres, 24, was driving a 2005 northbound Pontiac Grand Prix at the Progreso-Nuevo Progreso International Bridge when officers noticed discrepancies to the vehicle's trunk area. During a secondary inspection, a narcotic detector dog named "Akela" sniffed out the drugs, and officers retrieved 34 marijuana bundles hidden inside a compartment in the vehicle's back seat.

The drugs weighed about 155 pounds and had an estimated street value of $124,000. Torres, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on federal drug charges.

That same day, officers found about 200 pounds of marijuana inside a 2002 Chevrolet at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge.

The driver, Horacio Pedro Rosas, 34, of Zapopan, Jal., was driving into the United States at the bridge when a narcotic detector dog named "Justice" sniffed out the load hidden in the truck's bed. Officers found 60 marijuana bundles hidden inside a compartment on the bed. The drugs had an estimated street value of $160,000.

The man, a Mexican citizen, was also arrested on federal drug charges.