SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents have seized a huge stash of narcotics on a major interstate in California.
According to a release from the CBP agents from the San Clemente Station stopped a sedan traveling northbound on Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton, a Marine base near San Diego.
After a brief interview with the man driving the vehicle, the agents requested that a K-9 unit respond to the vehicle stop.
Authorities say the K-9 dog registered a positive response compelling officers to conduct a search of the vehicle. That is when agents opened the trunk and discovered two white trash bags filled with cellophane-wrapped packages consistent with drug smuggling.
CBP said agents transported the vehicle, the suspected narcotics, the driver and adult male passenger to the nearby Border Patrol station.
CBP reported that a total of 19 cellophane-wrapped packages were removed from the car and tested. The packages tested positive for the characteristics of cocaine. The total weight of the cocaine was 47.51 pounds, with an estimated street value of nearly $810,000.
The Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of the cocaine, while the driver and passenger now face narcotics trafficking charges. The vehicle was seized by the Border Patrol.
“Rest assured that the agents of San Diego Sector are out there around the clock protecting the American people,” said San Diego Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey D. Stalnaker. “We will do everything within our power to stop those who would do us harm, and to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
This seizure is just the most recent in a string of Border Patrol interdictions along the busy interstate highways in San Diego County. With 18 pounds of fentanyl seized along Interstate 15 on Feb. 19 and 143 pounds of cocaine seized along Interstate 5 on Feb. 18.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
