OTAY MESA, Calif. (KGTV) -- A suspicious package prompted a bomb squad response and partial shutdown at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry Wednesday morning, halting thousands of crossings before authorities cleared the scene and reopened all lanes.
San Diego Police confirmed the package was not a bomb and said there is no threat to the public.
San Diego Police said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent discovered the package just before 8 a.m. during a routine patrol near the port of entry. Because CBP does not have its own bomb squad, San Diego Police Department's Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST) responded and took over the investigation.
San Diego Police Lt. Cesar Jimenez described what agents found.
"It was an electric device, with wires coming out of it and going into a metal box, located inside the facility," Jimenez said. "It was located in an area where, if it was a deadly device or an explosive, it could have hurt a lot of people."
Jimenez said their priority was the public's safety.
The pedestrian crossing, where approximately U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) says about 2,000 people cross every hour, was shut down while the bomb squad examined the device. On the highway, vehicles came to a standstill in bumper-to-bumper traffic, at a crossing where CBP says more than 20,000 vehicles pass through every day.
The backup affected taxi drivers who depend on cross-border traffic, including driver Timothy Wilkins, who said he learned about the suspicious package from a passenger who got out of a cab to ask what was happening.
"The traffic in the ready lane had totally stopped, and nobody knew what was going on," Wilkins said. "I was delayed probably altogether only like a half hour or so."
Wilkins said the situation left him unsettled.
"I don't want to say it was depressing, but worrisome," Wilkins said.
At approximately 10:45 a.m., the bomb squad cleared the device. By noon, some travelers crossing the border were unaware a security scare had just been resolved. Omar Rebollar, who crossed around that time, said things appeared normal.
"The line is normal at this moment. The officers didn't say nothing. The line is very short, but I [didn't know] you had a bomb," Rebollar said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement: "All lanes are now fully open to the public. Normal border crossing operations have resumed."
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PREVIOUSLY REPORTED: The discovery of a suspicious package forced the closure of the pedestrian and vehicle crossings at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry on Wednesday morning.
San Diego Police said they received a call from Federal Police Dispatch just after 7:30 a.m. regarding a suspicious package that appeared to have wires and was located on the south corner of the pedestrian bridge near the southbound pedestrian entry.
Because of the discovery and response, authorities shut down the Port of Entry’s pedestrian and border crossings. Additionally, a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department official told ABC 10News that a bomb squad was called in to investigate.
Just before 9:30 a.m., San Diego police urged the public to avoid the area as delays are expected. Police also advised anyone seeking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border to use the San Ysidro Port of Entry “until further notice.”
At around 10:44 a.m., law enforcement cleared the object and reopened the border crossing.
Details on the suspicious package were not immediately released.
