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  4. Christmas Comes Early, CBP Officers Find Almost Two Tons of Marijuana in Cargo Shipment of Bows

Christmas Comes Early, CBP Officers Find Almost Two Tons of Marijuana in Cargo Shipment of Bows

Release Date
Fri, 08/29/2014

OTAY MESA, Calif. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility Thursday afternoon discovered 3,370 pounds of marijuana in a shipment of Christmas bows.

On Aug. 28, at about 3:30 p.m., a 28-year-old male Mexican citizen driving a 1998 Kenworth tractor pulling a trailer entered the port of entry with cargo manifested as bows.

The CBP officer referred the driver and conveyance for a more in-depth examination.

209 packages of marijuana was hidden inside boxes that were supposed to hold Christmas bows.

Two hundred and nine packages of marijuana were discovered inside boxes that were supposed to hold Christmas bows.

Officers ran the tractor and trailer through the port’s imaging system and it showed anomalies with the cargo.  Officers probed one of the boxes and extracted a green-leafy substance that field-tested positive for marijuana.

Officers subsequently extracted 209 large packages of marijuana from inside the boxes, valued at $1.5 million.

The driver was booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center to await arraignment.

CBP seized the marijuana, tractor and trailer.

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