Agents seize $356,000 worth of crystal meth in San Clemente

Saturday, November 7, 2009
By BRITTANY LEVINE
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized $356,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine in San Clemente and arrested a Mexican citizen on suspicion of smuggling, border agents said.

Agents stopped a Dodge Durango truck traveling north on I-5 about 11:15 a.m. Thursday near the Avenida Magdalena exit. The driver, a 27-year-old from San Ysdiro, granted the agents permission to search his car, the Border Patrol said. He had a resident alien identification card.

His name was unavailable.

A K-9 team inspected the vehicle and found a black duffel bag tucked behind the driver's seat containing 12 bundles, or 15.4 pounds, of crystal methamphetamine, a colorless, odorless drug, the Border Patrol said. Agents arrested the driver on suspicion of drug smuggling and turned him and the drugs over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Border agents seized the truck.

"When it comes to crystal methamphetamine, that's a significant load considering we seized under 47 pounds last year. In this one event we seized a third of the total for all of last year," agent Jerry Conlin said.

Border officials have seized about 330 pounds of crystal methamphetamine from Oct. 1, 2008, to Aug. 31 this year, according to data kept by the Border Patrol.

Conlin said agents are "catching more vehicles trying to smuggle narcotics" in the San Diego sector because more agents are on patrol this year and the K-9 teams have received more training.

Crystal methamphetamine is a man-made narcotic that is highly addictive. The drug, which can be smoked or injected, can produce a high of up to 12 hours, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center.

Other illegal-drug seizures also have increased this year. Cocaine seizures have jumped 142 percent to 1,700 pounds this fiscal year when compared with a year earlier.

Contact the writer: Blevine@ocregister.com or 949-492-5135

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