C.B.P. News Release

Border Patrol Interstate Checkpoint Yields High Dollar Amount of Cocaine

(Wednesday, March 17, 2010)

Calexico, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station seized cocaine with an estimated value of $880,000 concealed in a vehicle on Monday afternoon during checkpoint operations on Interstate 8.

At approximately 2 p.m., a Border Patrol canine team alerted agents to the possible presence of narcotics in a gold 2003 Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle while performing a cursory inspection. The vehicle, driven by a male Mexican citizen who is a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States, was subsequently referred to the secondary inspection area. During a thorough search of the vehicle, wrapped packages of cocaine were discovered concealed in an after-market compartment underneath the center console.

According to El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey A. Calhoon, the highway seizure illustrates the U.S. Border Patrol’s three-tiered strategy for intercepting dangerous narcotics.

“We will never let up when it comes to keeping dangerous narcotics from reaching the streets of our communities,â€