Smugglers arrested with 159 pounds of ecstasy tablets
By Boundary Sentinel
A drug smuggling attempt failed when United States Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents seized five backpacks with 159 pounds of ecstasy at the Washington state border near Christina Lake last Friday. CBP Public Information Officer James Frackleton explained that the seizure was a result of good coordinated tactical planning and utilization of advanced detection and surveillance technology by agents in the field. “Agents were alerted to the smugglers’ entry and encountered two subjects with multiple backpacks shortly after crossing the border illegally from Canada into the United States,” said Frackleton in a statement. “Agents arrested the suspected smugglers as they attempted to conceal themselves in the brush near a trail head south of the U.S./Canadian Border.”
In total the 159 pounds of ecstasy tablets have an estimated street value over $4.5 million. The smugglers crossed the border south of Christina Lake near Laurier, WA.
The seized narcotics and arrested drug smugglers were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for further processing. Last October, Spokane Sector agents seized 310 pounds of Ecstasy near Curlew, Washington. This record setting haul had a street value of above $9.3 million.
