Thread: Record Otay pot bust: 15 tons, $19 Million value

Record Otay pot bust: 15 tons, $19M value

Federal officials said it was second largest ever at a U.S. border crossing

By Susan Shroder 5:08 P.M.FEB. 27, 2015


The trailer was stacked with nearly 1,300 packages of marijuana. / U.S. Customs and Border Protection

OTAY MESA — Federal officials said more than 15 tons of marijuana with an estimated street value of nearly $19 million was found in a tractor-trailer Thursday night at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in the largest seizure ever at the port and the second largest ever at a border crossing nationwide.

The driver, a 46-year-old Mexican citizen, stopped the truck for inspection about 6 p.m. The shipment was labeled as mattresses and cushions.

During an X-ray examination, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers “identified an anomaly” and sent the truck to a dock for further examination, CBP spokeswoman Jackie Wasiluk said in a statement.

When the door of the trailer was opened, officers saw stacks of plastic-wrapped packages.

“Almost the entire trailer was filled with those packages from floor to ceiling, front to back, although there were a few mattresses stacked along the wall at the opposite end of the trailer from the doors,” Wasiluk said.

Nearly 1,300 packages were inside. They weighed a total of nearly 32,000 pounds.

The driver was arrested and booked into the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown San Diego. He had a valid border crossing card, Wasiluk said.

The largest seizure ever at a border crossing in the country occurred at the Calexico East Port of Entry in Imperial County in 2013, when 35,265 pounds of marijuana was seized, Wasiluk said. The previous largest seizure at the Otay Mesa port, in 2003, was 19,999 pounds of marijuana.

“I am extremely proud of the work my officers do. Officers never give up their enforcement posture and demonstrate each and every day that they remain guardians of our nation,” Otay Mesa Cargo Port Director Rosa Hernandez said in the statement.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/...ns-19-million/