Thread: $2.7 million in meth hidden in tow truck

$2.7 million in meth hidden in tow truck

Written by
Pauline Repard
7:21 p.m., Oct. 13, 2011

SAN YSIDRO — A drug-sniffing dog helped federal officers find an estimated $2.7 million worth of methamphetamine hidden on the underside of a tow truck at the San Ysidro border crossing Wednesday, authorities said.

The truck driver, a 49-year-old Mexican citizen living in La Puente, was waiting to enter the United States about 1 p.m. when the detector-dog reacted to the vehicle, Customs and Border Protection officials said.

Officers searched the flatbed truck and noticed cross beams on the underside had been altered, agency spokeswoman Angelica de Cima said. They extracted 56 packages of meth weighing a total of 135 pounds. The driver was arrested. His name was not released.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... ck-border/

C.B.P. News Release

CBP Officers in San Diego Seize $2.7 Million Worth of Methamphetamine

(Thursday, October 13, 2011)

San Diego, CA— U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the San Ysidro port of entry yesterday discovered 135 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in a tow truck.

On Wednesday afternoon, October 12, at about 1:15 p.m., a CBP officer and canine were screening vehicles waiting in line for inspection when his detector dog alerted to a 1999 Chevrolet Flatbed tow truck. The tow truck was driven by a 49-year-old male Mexican citizen and resident of La Puente, Calif. The driver and vehicle were escorted out of line for a more in-depth examination.

When CBP officers searched the underside of the truck bed, they noticed the cross beams had been altered. CBP officers searched the cross beams utilizing a fiber optic scope and saw packages.

CBP officers subsequently extracted 56 wrapped packages, in seven of the ten cross beams, that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

Street value of the narcotic is $2.7 million.

The driver was arrested and transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to await arraignment in federal court for the alleged smuggling attempt. CBP seized the vehicle and narcotics.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Contacts For This News Release
Angela De Cima
Press Officer
Phone: (619) 744-5292

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2011_6.xml