Border Patrol snags cocaine and meth worth $1 million

Border Patrol agents detained two suspected drug smugglers in separate stops that netted more than 100 pounds of cocaine and crystal methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1.13 million.

The first stop involved a 30-year-old female Mexican national sitting in the driver’s seat of a Jeep Cherokee that was parked at a rest area located just north of Oceanside (The rest stop also shares a fence line with Camp Pendleton Marine Base on Interstate 5).

After questioning the woman, Border Patrol agents completed a consensual cursory search by a K-9 team. The Border Patrol K-9 dogs alerted agents to a positive scent in the Jeep. Following a brief search of the engine compartment, agents discovered 16 bundles of crystal meth concealed in the intake manifold. The drugs weighed nearly 11 pounds valued about $215,000.

Less than an hour later Border Patrol agents stopped a 27-year-old U.S. citizen driving to California from Arizona. The female arrived at the checkpoint east of San Diego where agents directed the driver to the secondary inspection area. Again the Border Patrol K-9 team alerted agents to drugs hidden underneath the car’s floorboards.

The U.S. Border Patrol seized both vehicles used in the narcotic smuggling incidents.Once the two aftermarket compartments were discovered, Border Patrol removed 30 bundles of cocaine. “The cocaine weighed 91.5 pounds with an estimated street value of $915,400. The suspected smugglers and narcotics in both incidents were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for further investigation,” according to a CBP statement.

Border Patrol agents encourage anyone who observes suspicious activity in the San Diego Sector to call (619) 498-9900.

© Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.

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