Food smuggling on feds’ menu

Banned items from Mexico seized daily

By Peter Rowe, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 6, 2010 at 12:09 a.m.

Yolanda Cano’s two arrests came almost exactly five years apart: Jan. 22, 2004, and Jan. 25, 2009. Both times, she was nabbed at the San Ysidro border crossing, smuggling illegal items into the United States.

First, it was 83 pounds of marijuana. The second time: 149 pounds of another banned substance, unpasteurized cheese.

Cano, an Imperial Beach resident, wasn’t surprised when her stash of weed resulted in a 21-month prison sentence. But her lawyer, Joshua Jones, said the 39-year-old mother of five was shocked when 30 wheels of queso landed her in jail.

“Ms. Cano’s time in custody, for what she previously thought was a relatively minor offense, has dramatically changed her outlook,â€