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  4. CBP Officers Stop Attempts to Smuggle Hard Narcotics Inside Body Cavities; San Diego CBP Officers Seize Heroin, Methamphetamine

CBP Officers Stop Attempts to Smuggle Hard Narcotics Inside Body Cavities; San Diego CBP Officers Seize Heroin, Methamphetamine

Release Date
Tue, 01/06/2015

SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry over the weekend stopped five women attempting to walk across the border with packages of narcotics inserted inside their bodies; four with heroin and one with methamphetamine.

heroin seized from one of the women

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped five women attempting to walk across the border at the San Ysidro or Otay Mesa port of entry with narcotics inserted inside their bodies. Pictured is one package of heroin seized from one of the women.

On Friday, January 2, at around 3:30 p.m., a 24-year-old woman entered the Otay Mesa Port of Entry on foot.  A CBP narcotics detector dog alerted to the woman, a U.S. citizen, and CBP officers referred her to a secure area for further review.

During the inspection, officers discovered a single plastic-wrapped bundle concealed under her clothing, hidden within her body cavity.

The package field-tested positive as heroin and yielded a total weight of .83 pounds.  The narcotics have an estimated street value of almost $10,000.

CBP officers also apprehended four other female U.S. citizen pedestrians attempting to conceal narcotics inserted inside a body cavity while walking across the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro border crossings.

A 19-year-old woman, a 21-year-old woman, and a 41-year-old woman were each arrested over the weekend after officers discovered packages of heroin.  The three packages had a total combined weight of 2.45 pounds, with an estimated value of almost $30,000.

A 39-year-old woman was also arrested after CBP officers discovered .40 pounds of methamphetamine.  The narcotics are valued at approximately $4,000.

In all five incidents, the women were arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations agents for further processing.  Three were transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, one was transported to the Las Colinas Detention Facility, and one was transported to the San Diego County Jail to await arraignment.

CBP seized the narcotics.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021