SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Diego Field Office seized $7.8 million worth of drugs leading up to Memorial Day.
"Narcotics smuggling continues to be on the rise and our officers will relentlessly continue doing everything they can to keep our communities safe," said Sidney Aki, CBP Director of Field Office of Public Affairs Operations for San Diego. "Remaining vigilant for something that looks out of place and keeping a keen eye for unusual travel patterns is what our officers are trained for and what they do best."
From May 18 - May 24, CBP officers seized the following:
On May 18, 36 packages were found in a vehicle's floor, firewall and gas tank at the San Ysidro port of entry. The narcotics were tested and identified as fentanyl powder with a total weight of 4.67 pounds, fentanyl pills with a total weight of 2.25 pounds, and methamphetamine with a total weight of 27.47 pounds. Altogether, the narcotics have an estimated street value of $305,200.
On May 19, 50 packages of cocaine weighing 123.46 pounds were seized from a car's gas tank at a Tecate cargo facility. The estimated street value was $2,000,000.
At the Calexico port of entry, they found 78 packages of fentanyl weighing 109.17 pounds inside a vehicle's rear quarter panels, doors, seats, and speaker box.
There were five packages of fentanyl powder weighing a total of 11.42 pounds were found in the rear quarter panel of a vehicle at the Otay Mesa port of entry. The estimated street value was $158,000.
On May 20, three packages of methamphetamine weighing 15.30 pounds were found in the undercarriage of a vehicle at the Calexico Port of Entry. The estimated street value was $100,600.
On May 23, at the Calexico port of entry, six packages of methamphetamine weighing 7.45 pounds were found in a traveler's backpack. The estimated street value was $16,390.
On the same day, 40 packages of fentanyl pills weighing 77.21 pounds were found and seized from a vehicle's rear doors and gas tank at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The street value is estimated at $2,101,200.
On May 24, 30 packages of methamphetamine weighing 60.80 pounds were found and seized at the San Ysidro port of entry. The total street value was estimated at $133,760.
The total estimated amount of narcotics found by CBP officers within the San Diego Field Office was $7,815,150 million, according to U.S. Customs and Patrol. All travelers were turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation.
