SAN DIEGO — It was a busy two days this week when Border Patrol agents arrested people on I-15, SR-94, and I-5 within 24-hours who were transporting narcotics valued at $770,012.
On Monday at approximately noon, agents initiated a vehicle stop on a 1999 Audi A4 near Interstate 15 and Deer Springs Road. While agents questioned the 23-year-old U.S. citizen driver and his 25-year-old male passenger, a nearby K-9 alerted to the car. Searching the car, agents found 12 wrapped bundles of narcotics hidden inside tuna-fish boxes in the trunk. The bundles were filled with heroin, meth, and marijuana worth an estimated $116,018.
About one hour later, Brown Field agents manning the State Route 94 checkpoint near Jamul questioned the driver of a 2014 Kenworth commercial vehicle. The 44-year-old Mexican national driver stated that his flatbed trailer had16 mesh-wire containers filled with riverbed rock. A nearby K-9 alerted and agents found eight large boxes beneath the rock. The boxes contained 977.30 pounds of marijuana that is worth an estimated $586,380.
The following morning at 7 a.m., agents at the Interstate 5 checkpoint near San Clemente questioned a 21-year-old male U.S. citizen. Driving a 2002 Ford Explorer, the man indicated he was traveling to Los Angeles. Agents referred him for a secondary inspection and three packages of heroin were found under the rear seat of the SUV. Agents also found a small amount of marijuana. The narcotics are worth an estimated $67,614.
The four men involved in the three incidents were arrested and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for federal prosecution. The vehicles were 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.