Agents seize 600 pounds of drugs, arrest 13 fugitives

SOUTH COUNTY: Customs agents seized almost 600 pounds of drugs and arrested 13 wanted fugitives over the three-day weekend at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry, authorities said.

The fugitives were wanted on charges ranging from burglary to child neglect and narcotics, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Angelica De Cima said.

Drug seizures included 20 pounds of methamphetamine found in the sidewall of a 1980 Ford F-150 pickup. The driver, 41, of Tijuana, was arrested after trying to enter the country from Mexico at Otay Mesa about 11 a.m. Monday, De Cima said.

On Saturday, agents at San Ysidro seized 129 pounds of marijuana stashed in the back seat, tool box and engine of a 2002 Dodge Dakota pickup driven by a 58-year-old Garden Grove man about 1:30 a.m. At 8 p.m., agents arrested a driver, 30, from Fullerton, who had 28 pounds of heroin in the rear wheel wells of a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta.

Five other drivers were arrested with marijuana in their cars, De Cima said. Officers also stopped 171 people from entering the United States with false papers or trying to avoid inspection

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib ... bsafe.html