World Trade Bridge Laredo: $30M in Meth Found in a Salt Load

What happened

CBP officers at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo found a huge drug load inside a truck. CBP is U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that checks every load coming in from Mexico.

It happened on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2026. A 2020 International LT625 tractor-trailer came through the bridge. Its paperwork (the manifest, the list of what the truck carries) said salt.

An officer sent the truck to a closer inspection. Officers used scanners that look inside a trailer without opening every box. They found 76 bags hidden in the salt. Inside was 3,395.91 pounds of methamphetamine. CBP says it is worth about $30.3 million on the street.

CBP took the drugs. The driver, the tractor and the trailer were released. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI, the federal team that investigates smuggling) opened a case. CBP and HSI talked about the seizure at a press conference at the bridge on Thursday, Oct. 15.

The World Trade Bridge is one of the two cargo bridges in Laredo. The other is the Colombia Solidarity Bridge. Thursday afternoon, CBP showed about a 30-minute wait for regular truck lanes at World Trade.

What it means for owner-operators

Thousands of honest drivers cross these bridges every day. Most never touch a bad load. But smugglers hide drugs inside normal freight, like salt, produce or building materials.

If a load you pull is used this way, you are the one at the bridge. A seizure can mean a long stop, a held truck and a lot of questions. Even when a driver is released, the delay costs time and money.

CBP checks are part of crossing. The best thing you can do is make your own loads hard to use for smuggling.

What to do next

• Know who you haul for. Work with shippers, brokers and carriers you can check. Be careful with loads that pay far above the market for no clear reason.
• Watch the loading when you can. If you cannot, write down when and where the trailer was loaded and by whom.
• Check the seal. Make sure the seal number on the trailer matches your paperwork. Take a photo of it. Report it if the seal is broken or different.
• Do not leave the trailer alone in unsecured lots before you cross.
• Make sure the paperwork matches the freight. If something looks wrong, ask before you roll.
• Read up on cargo risk. See our cargo theft and fraud guide and what cargo insurance may not cover.

Questions about protecting your truck and your cargo? Call TCZ Insurance Agency at 956-526-6727.