San Diego – On Monday, CBP officers from the San Diego Field Office worked in collaboration to achieve a common goal: prevent illegal activity at our borders and protect our communities. Between the San Ysdiro, Tecate and Otay Mesa ports of entry, CBP officers effectively seized methamphetamine, fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $1.6 million, pharmaceutical drugs, and a handgun and ammunition in a single day.
Beginning at 4 a.m., CBP officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry successfully interdicted:
- 146 packages of methamphetamine, weighing 159.53 pounds, from a 35-year-old male driver.
- 134 packages of methamphetamine, weighing 141.60 pounds, from a 33-year-old female driver.
- One handgun, two magazines, 51 rounds of 9 mm ammunition from a 61-year-old male driver.
- A bottle of Zolpidem (Ambien) containing 300 pills from a 47-year-old male trusted traveler member.
- 60 packages of methamphetamine, weighing 167.77 pounds, from a 25-year-old male driver.
At approximately 10:12 a.m., CBP officers at the Tecate Port of Entry encountered a 49-year-old man driving a 2013 SUV, applying for admission into the United Stated from Mexico. During initial examination, the traveler reported $10,000 to CBP officers. However, upon further inspection, it was discovered that the traveler was in possession of $74,270 in unreported currency.
CBP officers at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry ended the night with unparalleled success. At approximately 8:15 p.m., CBP officers seized one package of fentanyl powder, weighing 4.85 pounds, from a 48-year-old female driver, with an estimated street value of $48,500.
Three hours later, at approximately 11:50 p.m., CBP officers seized liquid methamphetamine, weighing 159.70 pounds, from a 21-year-old male driver, with an estimated street value of $500,000.
“We will continue to prioritize and dedicate resources to counter Transnational Criminal Organizations and disrupt the flow of illicit drugs that cross our borders,” said Sidney Aki, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego. “We are proud of our Officers who work tirelessly every day to protect our border, our homeland, and our communities. This was truly a slam dunk.”
All subjects were turned over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further processing.
The narcotics and vehicles were seized by CBP officers from each of the respective ports of entry.
CBP officers at the border crossing in Southern California stop illegal activity while processing millions of legitimate travelers into the United States. Those statistics can be found here: CBP-enforcement-statistics
Follow the Director of CBP’s San Diego Field Office on Twitter at @DFOSanDiegoCA for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos.