$1.5 MILLION worth of Cocaine Seized, Mexican citizen arrest

Cocaine Worth Nearly $1.5 Million Dollars Seized at Calexico Port

(Tuesday, August 05, 2008)

Calexico, Calif. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico, Calif. downtown port of entry seized nearly half a million dollars in cocaine on Monday and arrested a 22-year-old female Mexican citizen in connection with the failed smuggled attempt.

The enforcement action occurred at about 9:30 a.m. when a female driving a silver 2008 BMW 1201 was referred to the secondary inspection area for examination after a human/narcotic detector dog alerted to the vehicle during a pre-primary enforcement operation.

At the secondary inspection area, an intensive examination of the vehicle revealed special compartments within the rocker panels that resulted in the discovery of 22 wrapped packages of cocaine with a total weight of 60 pounds.

The driver, a Mexicali resident, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The narcotics, worth $480,000, and the vehicle were seized by CBP.

This interception came at the heels of six other narcotic seizures that occurred late last week.

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.

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