Border officials confiscate 92K rounds of high-caliber ammo on tour bus bound for Mexico

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Wednesday that its officers at the El Paso port of entry confiscated 92,000 rounds of large-caliber ammunition leaving the United States over the weekend.

The seized ammunition nearly tripled the amount of ammunition agents seized in outward bound inspections at the El Paso field office over the past three fiscal years combined, CBP said.

Border Patrol said the ammunition was found on a commercial bus leaving the United States for Mexico at the Bridge of America port of entry in El Paso.

"CBP's primary mission is to inspect all goods and people entering the U.S. from abroad but the agency will also perform outbound inspections as part of our overall enforcement portfolio," said Hector Mancha, CBP El Paso director of field operations, in a statement.

"The magnitude of this seizure is impactful. Had this ammunition fallen into the hands of traditional criminal organizations the impact could have been devastating."

A Mexico tour bus returning to the country was selected for inspection by the CBP's Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team.

"CBP officers noted that the two bus drivers depicted nervous behavior during the routine inspection," CBP said. "The bus was secured and CBP officers initiated their exam. During a search of the cargo bay, they discovered multiple 27-gallon plastic storage totes that seemed very heavy."

Officers found boxes of ammunition when they further examined the totes. The drivers, both Mexican nationals, were detained and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for possible smuggling charges.

One of the 16 passengers on the bus was found to be in the United States illegally and processed as such. The other 15 passengers returned to Mexico on another bus.

In June , Border Patrol seized a large stash of weapons and ammunition also heading from the United States into Mexico at the Eagle Pass, Texas, port of entry. In that incident, officers seized four weapons, seven magazines, and 700 rounds of ammunition that were found inside a tractor-trailer.