Border officers seize more than 90K rounds of ammo in El Paso

A bus at the El Paso, Texas, port of entry contained boxes of ammo
It was triple the amount of ammo officers seized over a span of three years
Fifteen of the 16 passengers on board were moved to another bus

Updated: Aug 22, 2024 / 04:54 PM CDT

Passenger vehicle traffic at the Bridge of the Americas port of entry in El Paso, Texas.

(NewsNation) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized 92,900 rounds of large-caliber ammunition at the El Paso, Texas, port of entry Saturday.

That’s more than triple the amount of ammunition CBP officers performing outbound enforcement inspections at the El Paso field office have seized during the last three years combined, according to a news release.

The ammunition was on a commercial bus leaving the U.S. and entering Mexico at the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) port of entry. Members of CBP’s Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team stopped the bus for an inspection just after 7 p.m.

A search of the cargo bay revealed multiple 27-gallon plastic storage totes that “seemed very heavy,” according to the release. Inside the totes, officers found boxes containing 59,900 rounds of .223 ammunition and 33,000 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition.

CBP seized the bus and turned over the two male drivers to Homeland Security Investigations. Of the total 16 passengers on the bus, one was in the U.S. without authorization and processed accordingly, according to the release. The remaining 15 people were released and transferred to a different bus.