Thread: Border Patrol seizes $3.5 million drug load near San Diego

U.S. Border Patrol seizes $3.5 million drug load near San Diego

June 6th, 2011 8:05 pm PT
Kimberly Dvorak
San Diego County Political Buzz Examiner

Interior Border Patrol Agents did it again; they snagged $3.5 million in cocaine and marijuana behind a false wall located in a tractor trailer headed to San Diego.

U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to an Interstate 8 checkpoint just east of San Diego arrested a 25-year-old male, U.S. citizen, for smuggling more than 315 pounds of cocaine and 570 pounds of marijuana.

“Agents encountered the man, a resident of Los Angeles, on Friday, at about 11:15 p.m., as he arrived at the checkpoint driving a 1998 Freightliner truck with a trailer. A Border Patrol K-9 team performed a cursory inspection of the truck which resulted in a positive alert to the trailer and the driver was then referred for a secondary inspection,â€

C.B.P. News Release

CBP U.S. Border Patrol Seizes $3.5 Million Drug Load at I-8 Checkpoint

(Monday, June 06, 2011)

Pine Valley, Calif. — U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Interstate 8 checkpoint near Pine Valley arrested a 25-year-old male, U.S. citizen, for attempting to smuggle more than 315 pounds of cocaine and 570 pounds of marijuana hidden in a tractor-trailer.

Agents encountered the man, a resident of Los Angeles, on Friday, at about 11:15 p.m., as he arrived at the checkpoint driving a 1998 Freightliner truck with a trailer. A Border Patrol canine team performed a cursory inspection of the truck which resulted in a positive alert to the trailer. The driver was then referred for a secondary inspection.

During secondary inspection, agents searched the front of the trailer and discovered a false wall made of metal and plywood. Behind the plywood, agents found 115 cellophane-wrapped bundles of cocaine with a total weight of 315.6 pounds and an estimated street value of $3,156,000. Agents also discovered eight metal boxes containing 570.2 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $342,000.

The suspected smuggler and drugs were taken into custody and subsequently turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Freightliner truck and trailer were seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.

To prevent illicit smuggling of humans, drugs and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance on major corridors of egress away from our nation’s borders. Since Oct.1, 2010, San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents have seized more than 62,000 pounds of marijuana and 1,270 pounds of cocaine.

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 or

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2011_8.xml

Border Patrol arrests L.A. man allegedly hauling $3.5 million in cocaine, marijuana

June 7, 2011 | 8:02pm

Border Patrol agents arrested a Los Angeles man allegedly hauling more than 315 pounds of cocaine and 570 pounds of marijuana valued at $3.5 million, federal authorities said Tuesday.

The 35-year-old man was stopped Friday night at a checkpoint on Interstate 8 near Pine Valley in eastern San Diego County for a routine inspection as he drove a truck with a trailer, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The man's name was not released. He was described as a U.S. citizen.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... e-pot.html