Agents assigned to the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector made two significant drug seizures along Interstate 5 (I-5) within 12 hours.
The first seizure took place last Wednesday at approximately 3:30 p.m., when Border Patrol Agents from the San Clemente Station stopped a sedan on I-5. During the vehicle inspection, agents discovered plastic-wrapped packages inside of green trash bags, consistent with narcotics packaging. The suspected narcotics, vehicle, and driver were transported to a nearby Border Patrol station for further investigation.
At the station, agents removed four cellophane-wrapped packages which tested positive for heroin. The total weight of the heroin was 11.79 pounds. The vehicle was seized by U.S. Border and the driver and narcotics were turned over to the San Diego Sheriff’s Office.
The second incident occurred just 12 hours later, on Thursday at approximately 3:15 a.m., when agents from the San Clemente Border Patrol Station stopped a suspicious pickup truck on I-5. A Border Patrol K-9 team trained to detect the presence of concealed people, narcotics, and other contraband preformed a non-intrusive search of the pick-up and alerted agents to the truck’s battery compartment. Inside, they discovered plastic-wrapped packages, consistent with the packaging of smuggled narcotics. The suspected narcotics, vehicle, and driver were then transported to a nearby Border Patrol station for further investigation.
At the station, Agents removed two cellophane-wrapped packages from the battery compartment. The contents tested positive for fentanyl with a total weight of five pounds. U.S. Border Patrol seized the narcotics and the pick-up, and the driver was processed for criminal prosecution.
“Transnational Criminal Organizations continue to use Interstate 5 as a key corridor to smuggle drugs from the border to the interior of the United States.” said San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. “We remain committed to working alongside our local, state and federal partners to protect our communities and disrupt these criminal networks.”