California CBP officers seize 314 pounds of narcotics over separate incidents

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at various ports of entry in California recently intercepted 314 pounds of illicit narcotics and arrested 14 fugitives over multiple incidents.

From Friday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 5, California CBP officers seized more than 181 pounds of methamphetamine, 55 pounds of cocaine, 36 pounds of marijuana, 31 pounds of fentanyl and 11 pounds of heroin.

During the same time period, a total of 14 fugitives were arrested on various charges including parole violations, robbery, assault, and failure to appear.

In one notable incident, officers assigned to the Otay Mesa border crossing on Nov. 3 encountered a 2007 Ford Explorer SUV driven by a 23-year old male U.S. citizen. After a narcotics-detection canine team alerted officers to suspicious activity within the vehicle, the officers referred the driver for a more thorough, secondary inspection.

Using a non-intrusive imaging system, the officers observed multiple anomalies emanating from within the vehicle’s oil pan. From there, the officers extracted one package of cocaine, two packages of methamphetamine, one package of brown powder heroin and one package of black tar heroin, all of which weighed a combined eight pounds and carried an estimated street value of $73,000.

A day later, officers stationed at the San Ysidro Port of Entry encountered a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV driven by a 43-year old male Mexican citizen with a valid B1/B2 visa. After a brief round of questioning, one officer observed discrepancies with the inspection and referred the vehicle for a secondary examination.

A subsequent scan involving a non-intrusive imaging system revealed a number of anomalies within the vehicle’s muffler. From there, officers extracted a total of eight packages of fentanyl, which weighed approximately 18 pounds and carried an estimated street value of $588,500.

In each case, CBP officers seized all vehicles and narcotics. Suspects were then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit for criminal processing.