SAN YSIDRO, Calif. (CNS) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized nearly 250 pounds of drugs worth nearly $2 million on a single day last week across the southern border of California, including $1.2 million worth of methamphetamine at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the federal agency reported Monday.
The seizures Thursday at border crossings across the state totaled 104 pounds of methamphetamine -- including 88 pounds found inside a car in San Ysidro -- 88 pounds of cocaine and 52 pounds of heroin, CBP spokeswoman Shalene Thomas said. The drugs had an estimated value of more than $1.9 million.
CBP officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry made the biggest find of the day about 3 p.m. Thursday when an 18-year-old Mexican national approached the crossing in a 2012 Ford Edge, Thomas said. A CBP officer referred her for a secondary inspection where a drug dog alerted on the car.
Further investigation revealed 88 pounds of meth wrapped in 32 packages hidden in the car's gas tank and rocker panels, Thomas said. Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at about $1.2 million.
CBP officers seized the drugs and the car while the woman, whose name was not released, was arrested and turned over to the Department of Homeland Security.
Earlier Thursday, CBP officers seized 52 pounds of drugs hidden inside the gas tank of a 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe crossing from Mexico at the Andrade Port of Entry, a small crossing in the far southeast corner of California and just west of Yuma, Arizona, Thomas said. The 35-year-old resident of Mexicali, the city across the border from El Centro and Calexico, was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security while his SUV and drugs were seized by CBP officers.
"The drug smuggling organizations attempt to elude officers by using many different concealment techniques," CBP San Diego Director of Field Operations Pete Flores said. "The highly trained and vigilant CBP officers terminated these attempts and kept dangerous narcotics out of our communities."
