Criminology and Psychology

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 260 pounds of cocaine found late Sunday night in a hidden compartment on a commercial bus, the agency announced in a news release Wednesday.Agents have refused to identify the bus company or the 43-year-old driver, a Harlingen resident, who was attempting to cross the bus into the United States about 11:05 p.m. Sunday. Agents fined the driver $10,000 but did not arrest the person.A drug-detection dog discovered the cocaine, worth an estimated $8.3 million on the street, as agents conducted a secondary inspection of the bus, according to the news release."This is the largest cocaine seizure (CBP has) found hidden in a commercial bus," said Hector A. Mancha, the agency's Hidalgo-Pharr port director, in the news release.A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency is working to unravel the smuggling operation and could not provide more information about the bus or the driver.According to a 16-count feder...

Authorities identified the five bus companies accused of taking part in the drug smuggling as Transtar, Neptune Tours, Los Primos, USA-Mex and Ameri-Mex. According to the indictment, the companies have offices in Monterrey, Mexico, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Antonio and Houston.A telephone number listed for USA-Mex was not working. Representatives with Los Primos did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Attempts to reach the other bus companies were unsuccessful as no telephone numbers could immediately be found for their businesses.Investigators said the drugs were smuggled into the United States from Monterrey, Mexico, and transported north through the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, up through Houston and various cities north, including Dallas, Allentown, Pa., and Joliet, Ill.U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle said the drugs were stored on the buses inside some "not completely undetectable but some very sophisticated compartments," often below where luggage was ...