Border Patrol seizes nearly $10 million in cocaine in back-to-back California stops three minutes apart
U.S. Border Patrol agents seized more than 1,435 pounds of suspected cocaine worth $9.8 million during two vehicle inspections just three minutes apart at a Southern California checkpoint.
The seizures took place on October 25 at the San Clemente Border Patrol checkpoint in the San Diego Sector, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Agents referred the two vehicles for additional inspection after observing 'suspicious behavior,' including one driver attempting to reverse out of the checkpoint.
A Border Patrol canine alerted agents to both vehicles, leading to the discovery of 550 vacuum-sealed packages concealed inside black garbage bags.
Field tests yielded presumptive positive results for cocaine, CBP said.
Both drivers were arrested, and the Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of the suspects and the suspected narcotics pending federal prosecution.
San Clemente Station Patrol Agent in Charge J.D. Scott said in a statement, 'With this seizure, we are heading for a record year in narcotics interdictions here at the San Clemente checkpoint.'
Scott added that a few years ago, agents were deployed to the immediate border and processed hundreds of illegal aliens. 'With illegal border entries in San Diego at all-time lows, we now have the agents needed to keep our checkpoint open longer and to maintain a strong Border Patrol presence along our I-5 corridor,' he said.
The seizures come amid the Trump administration's broader crackdown on drug cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and drug trafficking networks.
In a separate case in May, authorities in the Southern District of California uncovered more than a ton of cocaine worth an estimated $45 million linked to an alleged cross-border drug tunnel.
