Drugs Remain in Tanker Truck

Crews say it's not safe to remove them

FALFURRIAS - Hazmat crews are working to get drugs out of the belly of a tanker truck.

The bust happened last night. A sniffer dog alerted agents to the drugs in the truck at the Falfurrias checkpoint. The truck was taken to the Pharr International Bridge for X-rays.

Drugs were found inside. Now a Hazmat crew is working to get them out of the truck.

Crews from Edinburg and Pharr pumped the oil out of the tanker. But Rene Alaniz of the McAllen Fire Department tells us it's still not safe to enter the tanker to remove the drugs.

"If someone went inside the vessel with no breathing apparatus, they could hurt themselves, their lungs. Or if the product came in contact with the skin, it could cause burns," he explains.

Hazmat crews did some testing. We learned the results weren't good.

Alaniz tells us, "There were high levels of flammability. If they were going to do any cutting... it could create an explosion."

So the drugs are staying put for now. The tanker truck is at the Falfurrias airport parked in the shade. Dozens of law enforcement agents are standing guard.