Latest local news, weather, high school sports in the Rio Grande Valley

Authorities are trying to learn the identity of a person who allegedly left 21 pounds of cocaine inside a mini-van parked outside a local WalMart.

It all happened at the WalMart off Padre Island Highway and FM 802 around 6 p.m. Thursday.

Brownsville police told Action 4 News that a patrol officer spotted a Dodge Caravan with Mexican plates in the parking lot with the door partially opened.

The officer noticed a heavy odor of laundry detergent coming from inside the van. 

Investigators said the officer tried to a locate the owner but was not successful.

A search by a K-9 officer revealed eight bundles with 21.04 pounds of cocaine inside the dashboard.

No arrests have been made while authorities try to learn who owns the mini-van and who left it abandoned in the parking lot.

Investigators said it’s common for drug smuggler to drive a load vehicle across the border and leave them in the parking lots of local businesses to be picked up by another person.