Border Patrol agents confiscate cocaine, arrest driver
By Debbi Baker
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
10:45 a.m. February 12, 2009
Agents found a hidden compartment inside the fuel tank with twenty-five packages of cocaine inside. - More arrests
SUV with SENTRI pass yields cache of pot
TEMECULA — Border Patrol agents confiscated $2.3 million in cocaine and arrested a 21-year-old Mexican national after discovering the drugs hidden inside the fuel tank of the vehicle he was driving.
An agent spotted the Ford Explorer with Baja California plates on Interstate 15 near Rainbow Valley Road in San Diego County about 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Border Patrol agent Mark Endicott.
He followed the SUV, which began to weave in and out of traffic, to the Temecula Parkway exit where he pulled over, Endicott said.
The driver appeared nervous and gave inconsistent answers to the agent's questions, Endicott said.
The man was ordered to drive to the Border Patrol checkpoint, where a dog indicated to officers that drugs were in the SUV and the vehicle was searched.
Agents found 25 packages of cocaine weighing 72½ pounds inside a hidden compartment in the fuel tank that was accessible through a trap door underneath the rear seat.
The man had a valid border-crossing pass, Endicott said. Agents do not know where he was traveling from.

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