About 3 miles north of Raymondville on US 77, in vicinity of Junction with 77W (Business Route 77). They could be a few miles north as well. Seems to be mainly in North-bound direction.

Very creepy, seemed to me like it could be some sort of shakedown / vehicle confiscation scam.

Posted limit is 70 mph. I was doing about 73 when I saw a State Patrol car pull out ahead of me to intercept me. I slowed down to 65 right away. He cruised along side me for about a minute. I was sweating it out, and trying to not do anything wrong. I was narrowly saved, when the pickup ahead of me apparently thought the cop was gone, and sped back up. The cop was right on his tail in a few seconds.

A couple miles down the road (northbound) the pickup was pulled over, along with several other cars and 4 state patrol cars. They were searching all the vehicles they had pulled off.

A few miles further north, I saw another cop searching yet another car.

I had also seen them there on my way southbound a few days earlier, so this appears to be a fairly regular thing. It may be connected with searching for illegal aliens or smuggling. But once they have you pulled over, who knows what could happen?

This, and the situation at Driscoll, may make it worthwhile to entirely avoid US 77 between Harlingen and Corpus Christi. US281 might be a possible bypass, but the situation there might be the same, I don�t personally know. There aren�t many farm-to-market roads in the area that bypass this section. (Which may be why they are set up here.) Driving a back road that is too isolated might also attract their attention, or that of the border patrol. So all I can say is: go well UNDER the limit here and watch what you�re doing. But they still could probably do the old �you were weaving� ploy if they decide you look interesting enough.