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Border officers seize almost 10,000 pounds of drugs over the weekend

Drugs valued at almost $7 million
Posted at 2:33 PM, Jan 31, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-31 17:38:06-05

SAN DIEGO - Almost 10,000 pounds of drugs, valued at about $7 million, was seized by US Customs and Border Protection officers in San Diego and Imperial Counties over the weekend.

The busts occurred on Friday at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry. A truck driver arrived at the port at about 4 p.m., claiming to be carrying a shipment of cardboard boxes. Officers referred the vehicle to the port's imaging system, which revealed anomalies within the truck's shipment.

Officer searched the vehicle and found 39 cellophane-wrapped packages of marijuana, weighing about 523 pounds.

Later that day at about 6:30 p.m., another truck approached the the port, this time with a shipment listed as "organic sugar confectionary." They, too, were referred to the port's imaging system. Anomalies in the shipment were detected once again.

Officers recovered 350 packages of marijuana weighing about 8,400 pounds.

Between Friday and Sunday, officers also recovered another 272 pounds of marijuana, 271 pounds of methamphetamine, and almost 118 pounds of cocaine in other vehicles. These drugs were hidden in areas such as the fuel tank, dashboard, muffler, and quarter panels of vehicles.