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BMW driver abandons 182 pounds of cocaine after car crash, Texas officials say

Texas authorities found 182 pounds of cocaine in a BMW abandoned after a car crash near the Mexico border.
Texas authorities found 182 pounds of cocaine in a BMW abandoned after a car crash near the Mexico border. Texas Department of Public Safety

Bad luck, bad driving, or both led authorities to a $3.3 million cocaine bust in south Texas on Monday.

According to the state Department of Public Safety, a driver transporting 182 pounds of cocaine got into a wreck with another vehicle on US 83, west of Rio Grande City, right along Texas’ border with Mexico.

Texas state troopers responded to a crash on the highway and couldn’t find the driver, but they said they found a lot of cocaine in the vehicle.
Texas state troopers responded to a crash on the highway and couldn’t find the driver, but they said they found a lot of cocaine in the vehicle. Texas Department of Public Safety.

When state troopers arrived at the scene of what might have seemed like an ordinary accident, the driver of one of the vehicles, a BMW, was nowhere to be found. But inside the SUV left behind were three burlap sacks, packed with 70 bundles of cocaine combined.

Authorities estimate the haul’s total value at $3.3 million.

The missing driver later turned himself in to the Starr County Sheriff’s Office, DPS said.

The driver is facing charges of drug possession.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 12:37 PM with the headline "BMW driver abandons 182 pounds of cocaine after car crash, Texas officials say."

MW
Mitchell Willetts
The State
Mitchell Willetts is a real-time news reporter covering the central U.S. for McClatchy. He is a University of Oklahoma graduate and outdoors enthusiast living in Texas.
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