Federal officials in Texas say they seized nearly 100 pounds of marijuana, intercepted a pill-filled internal carrier, and arrested multiple convicted child predators in recent days.
Here are this week’s most notable immigration-related enforcement actions:
1. Kush Crush: Border Patrol Nabs Over Half-A-Million In Weed
Jason E. Schneider, acting chief patrol agent for the Rio Grande Valley sector, posted on August 20 that U.S. Border Patrol agents, with Department of Defense support, seized “99+ lbs of marijuana via drone ops” and arrested three Mexican juveniles accused of attempting to smuggle the drugs across the border.
“The border is closed—and we’re keeping it that way,” Schneider wrote on X.
According to Statista, the average price of marijuana in Texas is $322 per ounce. With 16 ounces in a pound, one pound of marijuana in Texas would be valued at about $5,152. At 99 pounds, the seized shipment could have been worth roughly $510,048 if sold at the average street value.
2. Progreso Pill Pusher Pinched With 1,017 Pills In Privates
Donald R. Kusser, director of field operations in Laredo, said in an August 14 post that Customs and Border Protection officers seized 1,017 Xanax pills hidden inside a body carrier during a secondary inspection at Progreso.
“You found what where?” Kusser wrote, adding that the Texas Department of Public Safety accepted prosecution in the case.
CBP released photographs of the seizure, including images of the pills cut from packaging, a round bundle extracted from inside the suspect, and the alleged smuggler, a Hispanic woman in her 20s or 30s with a neck tattoo, whose face was lightly blurred.
In Border Patrol parlance, an “internal carrier” refers to an individual who conceals contraband within their body in an attempt to pass through inspection undetected.
3. Pervert Purge: ICE Bags Child Predator in Houston
ICE Houston posted on X August 18 that officers arrested 56-year-old Erasto Cruz, a Mexican national described by the agency as a “criminal alien and convicted child predator.” Cruz was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2015, according to the post.
The arrest comes days after ICE issued a press release highlighting what it called a nationwide crackdown on “the worst of the worst,” including convicted child abusers and sexual predators.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is arresting pedophiles, abusers, and sexual predators,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens who have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in the United States.”
Among the examples ICE cited in its release were:
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Juan Ortiz-Mora, a Mexican national convicted of indecency with a child in Tarrant County, Texas.
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Ronald Echeverria-Tumbaco, an Ecuadorian convicted of aggravated indecent assault on a minor in Pennsylvania.
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Leidy Linares-Rapalo, a Honduran convicted of two counts of child abuse in Nebraska.
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Jheremy Julian Morales-Juarez, a Mexican convicted of possessing obscene material depicting minors in California.
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Juan Espino-Escamilla, a Mexican convicted of sexual assault in Nevada.
ICE officials said these operations demonstrate their intent to target “illegal aliens convicted of heinous crimes against children and sex crimes.”
Texas Takedown Weekly is a recurring series from The Dallas Express chronicling the most significant immigration-related arrests and interdictions across the state. To read last week’s edition, click here: Texas Takedown Weekly: Gang Leader Removal, Cocaine Trucks, And Child Predator Arrests (August 15)
