SAN DIEGO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry discovered methamphetamine and fentanyl attached to vehicle undercarriages in two separate incidents Monday.
The first incident occurred at approximately 5:15 a.m., the first incident occurred when CBP officers encountered a 42-year-old man driving a silver car through the vehicle SENTRI lane. During initial inspection, a CBP officer noticed several black, square-shaped packages attached to the vehicle’s undercarriage. The CBP officer radioed for assistance and referred the driver and vehicle for further examination.
CBP officers extracted two packages from the vehicle’s undercarriage. The contents of the packages tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine. The narcotics weighed 7.71 pounds — worth an estimated street value of $11,565.
Hours later, at approximately 7:40 a.m., CBP officers encountered a 51-year-old man driving a black SUV through the vehicle SENTRI lane. After the initial inspection, CBP officers referred the driver and vehicle for further examination.
Upon further inspection, CBP officers discovered one square-shaped package attached to the undercarriage of the vehicle. The packages were tested and identified as fentanyl blue pills. The narcotics weighed 2.56 pounds — worth an estimated street value of $29,000.
The combined estimated street value for both seizures is $40,565.
Both drivers were arrested for the alleged narcotics smuggling attempt. CBP officers turned the drivers over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further disposition. CBP officers seized the vehicles and narcotics.
CBP officers at the border crossing in Southern California stop illegal activity while processing millions of legitimate travelers into the United States.
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