OTAY MESA, Calif. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa commercial border crossing caught a person attempting to enter the country illegally by hiding in a shipment of corrugated cardboard.
On January 13, at 7 a.m. a tractor-trailer hauling a load of corrugated cardboard scrap arrived at the inspection facility. The officer referred the truck and shipment for x-ray examination. Officers found an anomaly, and the truck was sent to the docks to be further inspected.
At the dock, a tarp that covered the load was removed. Officers climbed on top of the shipment of cardboard and made contact with an individual hiding within the shipment. The man, a 39-year-old Mexican citizen, was detained and taken into custody.
CBP processed the man; he was ordered removed from the U.S. for a period of 20 years. The truck, driver, and shipment were released.