SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Tecate port of entry Wednesday seized 92 pounds of heroin, valued at more than $870,000, from an elderly woman.
hidden inside her car.
“The cartels will try and manipulate anyone to smuggle their narcotics through the ports of entry,” said San Diego CBP Director of Field Operations Pete Flores. “CBP officers are aware of the many tactics used by the cartels and remain ever vigilant to stop anyone attempting to smuggle narcotics.”
CBP officers working at the Tecate border crossing encountered a 81-year-old woman, United States citizen when she entered the U.S. driving a 2011 Chrysler 200 at about 11:30 a.m. A CBP K-9 team was screening vehicles as they waited in line for inspection when the detector dog alerted to the driver side rocker panel.
CBP officers referred the vehicle for a more in-depth inspection, during which CBP officers discovered and extracted a total of 34 wrapped packages of heroin from the vehicle’s rocker panels. The estimated street value of the heroin is over $870,000.
The woman was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations agents for further processing and CBP officers seized the vehicle.
CBP officers at the border crossings in Southern California routinely stop illegal activity, while processing millions of legitimate travelers into the United States. Those statistics can be found here: CBP-enforcement-statistics.