Border agents seize cocaine at San Clemente checkpoint
Published: Feb. 22, 2012 Updated: 5:42 p.m.
Border agents seize cocaine at San Clemente checkpoint
BY CINDY CARCAMO / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
SAN CLEMENTE – The U.S. Border Patrol – including agents at the San Clemente check point– seized more than $1 million in cocaine and methamphetamine in the last five days, preventing drug smuggling attempts in San Clemente and San Bernardino, officials reported Wednesday.
At 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, agents at a San Clemente Border Patrol checkpoint on the I-5 sent a 19-year-old woman driving a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta and her passenger for a secondary inspection, according to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Scott Simon.
A Border Patrol K-9 team was alerted to the trunk and that's where agents said they found 14 bundles of cocaine concealed inside two shopping bags. The cocaine weighed 30.69 pounds and has an estimated $306,900 street value.
More O.C. immigration stories | "Like" OC Register Immigration Facebook to see more news, information and conversation.
Immigration Text Alerts: Subscribe to free immigration news alerts. About 3-7 are sent each week. Text OCRIMMIG to 56654. More OCRegister news alerts.
Agents were suspicious because the occupants of the car appeared nervous, Simon stated in a press release. The woman was a U.S. citizen, Simon added.
A Border Patrol K-9 team alerted agents to the trunk, where agents found 14 bundles of cocaine concealed in two shopping bags, Simon stated. The cocaine weighed 30.69 pounds and has an estimated $306,900 street value, he stated.
Last week, border agents in San Bernardino stopped a 28-year-old Mexican woman driving a 2006 Ford Fusion at the split of I-15 and I-215.
Again, the Border Patrol K-9 team was alerted by the exterior of an automobile, which led to Friday's discovery of 20 bundles of methamphetamine in hidden compartments inside of the vehicle's panels, Simon reported.
Agents seized 35.27 pounds of methamphetamine, which has a street value of $705,400.
The suspected smugglers and the drugs in both cases were turned over to the Drug Enforcement administration for further investigation, Simon stated.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7924 or ccarcamo@ocregiter.com or Cindy Carcamo (@theCindyCarcamo) on Twitter
Border agents seize cocaine at San Clemente checkpoint | agents, border, san - News - The Orange County Register
