C.B.P. News Release

Border Patrol Seizes Cocaine Cache during I-15 Traffic Stop

(Wednesday, May 27, 2009)

Temecula, Calif. — Yesterday morning, Border Patrol agents arrested a 26-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman for allegedly smuggling 52 pounds of cocaine in a Ford Explorer. Two small children were traveling in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

At about 10:45 a.m., agents stopped the SUV near the Border Patrol checkpoint and interviewed the passengers. A Border Patrol canine team conducted an exterior search of the vehicle and detected the possible presence of contraband. Agents then conducted a search on the vehicle’s interior where they found 20 bundles of cocaine stashed in a shallow compartment built into the roof of the vehicle. The cocaine has an estimated street value of $426,600.

More than 50 pounds of cocaine is discovered in a hidden compartment of a vehicle in California.

The suspected smugglers and the drugs were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The driver’s two young children, ages one and three, were turned over to a local social services agency.

The Border Patrol maintains a defense-in-depth enforcement approach through the use of coordinated enforcement operations and interior checkpoints. So far this fiscal year, Border Patrol agents have seized 998.28 pounds of cocaine in San Diego Sector.

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
San Diego Sector
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (619) 216-4182 Ext: 114 or
(619) 652-9966 Ext: 192 (Spanish)

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2009_4.xml