USCBP Finds $2 Million Worth Of Cocaine in Shipment of Bell Peppers

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: cpb.gov

    CBP Officers Find More than $2 Million Worth of Cocaine Hidden in Shipment of Bell Peppers

Release Date: May 22, 2019
Calexico, California:  U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico East commercial facility Monday seized 242 pounds of cocaine after finding the narcotics co-mingled with a shipment of bell peppers.

“This was great work by the team of officers working at the Calexico East port of entry,” said Area Port Director David Salazar.  “Their hard work and inspectional scrutiny stopped an extremely dangerous narcotic from entering the U.S. and ultimately, millions of dollars of illicit funds from flowing back into the pockets of transnational criminal organizations.”

Shortly before 5 p.m. on May 20, an international truck entered the Calexico East cargo facility from Mexico with a shipment that was listed as green bell peppers.

A CBP officer referred the truck to the dock for a more intensive inspection where a human/narcotics detector dog alerted to the pallets of bell peppers loaded on the trailer. Go K /9 Units.

The shipment was offloaded, and officers ultimately discovered cellophane-wrapped packages of cocaine intermixed inside the boxes of peppers.

In total, officers found 100 packages of cocaine, worth an estimated street value of $2.1 million.

Officers took the driver, a 45-year old Mexican citizen, into custody and turned him over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations agents for further investigation. CBP seized the narcotics, the truck, and the trailer.

CBP officers at the border crossings in Southern California routinely stop illegal activity, while processing millions of legitimate travelers into the United States. Note: This is the Mexicali, BC / Calexico, Ca, US border crossing which now also has two terminals; the East Crossing is the Cargo Facility, see below at end.

                                                   Wellton, Arizona Border Crossing

Meanwhile:  The Yuma Sector Border Patrol Seizes more than $250K / 90 Pounds of Meth:

May 22, 2019 Yuma, Arizona: Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two United States citizens at the Interstate 8 Immigration Checkpoint after discovering nearly 90 pounds of methamphetamine hidden throughout their vehicle Tuesday afternoon.

80packages an/or 90 pounds of  packaged of methamphetamine hidden throughout a red Chevrolet Blazer near Yuma, Arizona.

At approximately 1:50 p.m., Wellton Station agents were referred the driver of a red Chevrolet Blazer to the secondary inspection area. While in secondary, a U.S. Border Patrol canine alerted to an odor it was trained to detect emitting from the vehicle. Agents searched the vehicle and located 80 packages of methamphetamine hidden throughout the vehicle. The narcotics were valued at $256,800.

The female driver, a 26-year-old United States citizen from Yuma, was arrested on drug smuggling charges. The female passenger, a 24-year-old United States citizen from Idaho, was also arrested.

Federal law allows agents to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of criminal activity charges without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If you have any information related to this seizure or any other suspected smuggling activity at the Calexico East Cargo facility, DHS encourages you to report it by calling its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form.