CBP Arrests US Man Entering Mexico With Over 4,000 Rounds Of Ammunition

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it recently seized more than 4,000 rounds of ammunition and arrested a U.S. citizen traveling south into Mexico.

CBP Mobile Enforcement Team members performing southbound inspections at the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso, Texas, encountered a 2017 Mercedes Benz CT300 driven by a 33-year-old U.S. man shortly before 9 p.m. on May 1. When the drover was instructed to turn off the engine for inspection, he refused, and continued driving forward.

Officers deployed tire deflation devices to stop the vehicle, and deployed a Taser after the driver tried to roll up the windows and “reach for an unknown item in the vehicle,” CBP said.

A search of the vehicle revealed 4,000 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition and 30 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition, along with $1,203 in U.S. currency, and $906 in Mexican pesos.

“CBP officers will conduct intermittent pulse and surge southbound operations at area ports to target the smuggling of weapons, ammunition, unreported currency and other violations,” CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio said in a statement. “This is a significant seizure and will help keep our shared international community safer.”

CBP seized the vehicle, ammunition and currency. The driver was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations to face attempted smuggling charges.