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  4. CBP Officers at Otay Mesa Seize 1,105 pounds of Marijuana

CBP Officers at Otay Mesa Seize 1,105 pounds of Marijuana

Release Date
Mon, 01/03/2011

SAN DIEGO—U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa port of entry, late Tuesday night, arrested a man after they discovered 1,105 pounds of marijuana in a false wall compartment of a trailer he was pulling.

Yesterday evening at about 11:30 p.m., the 28-year-old U.S. citizen, driving a 2001 Chevrolet 2500 pickup truck pulling a trailer waited in line for inspection. CBP officers were roving through the lanes of cars waiting to cross into the United States when an officer noticed a space discrepancy with the front wall of the trailer.

The officers pulled the car and driver aside, out of the lanes of traffic, for further inspection.

During their inspection, CBP officers found a specially-built, hidden compartment in the front wall of the trailer. Officers removed 112 packages from the compartment containing 1,105 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $663,000.

The driver, a resident of Upland, Calif., was arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center pending federal arraignment for the attempted illegal importation of narcotics.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021