SAN DIEGO—North County Border Patrol agents arrested two men and two women this week who were involved in two separate drug smuggling cases.
On Tuesday evening, agents patrolling Interstate 15 encountered a 2008 Ford Taurus near Temecula. When the Taurus pulled into a service station, agents approached the 35-year-old driver and his two male companions. The U.S. citizen driver was unable to produce a driver’s license and admitted it had been revoked. When agents questioned the two passengers about their trip and destination, their answers conflicted with those given by the driver. A records check also revealed that one of the men had been previously deported and was in the U.S. illegally.
A K-9 sniff of the Taurus sedan resulted in a positive alert. Agents searched the car and discovered two Castrol motor-oil cans filled with liquid meth in the trunk. The two pounds of liquid meth have an estimated street value of $120,000.
The driver was arrested and turned over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Special Investigation Bureau. He faces state charges. The previously deported passenger is being returned to Mexico and the second passenger was released. The vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.
On Wednesday morning, agents at the San Clemente Station referred the driver of a 1998 Honda Accord for a secondary inspection. The 28-year-old female driver and her 26-year-old female passenger told agents they were headed to Chino to visit the driver’s boyfriend.
Three meth bundles and one heroin bundle were hidden inside the liner of the cooler.
A K-9 sniff of the Honda resulted in an alert. Agents searched the car and found drugs inside the lining of a cooler that was behind the driver’s seat. The three packages of meth weighed 4.05 pounds and is valued at $40,500. The package of heroin weighed 2.74 pounds and is valued at $32,880.
The two women were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration and face Federal charges for the possession of a controlled substance. The vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.
To prevent the illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance on corridors of egress away from our Nation’s borders. To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact San Diego Sector at (619) 498-9900.