Border Agents Nab $1.5M in Coke, Weed, Meth

The U.S. Border Patrol has nabbed $1.5 million in meth, cocaine and marijuana since Saturday.

The seizures resulted from five different stops at checkpoints on the I-8, the I-15 and the I-5 near San Clemente, according to a release from the patrol.

At noon Saturday agents at the I-8 checkpoint encountered a 20 year-old male U.S. citizen driving a 2002 Suzuki XL7. Agents were suspicious when they stopped him and brought in a drug dog, which indicated there were drugs in the rear of the car. A subsequent look using technical equipment showed a hollow above the gas tanks, which was filled with 14.47 pounds of meth worth an estimated $289,400. 

At about 1 p.m. Monday, agents stopped a 21-year-old man who is a U.S. citizen at the I-8 checkpoint. A drug dog sniffed out 58 packages of marijuana in various locations, including the engine air filter, the doors, and the rear quarter panels. The weed weighed a total of 99.35 pounds and had an estimated street value of $149,010. 

Forty minutes later that same day, agents nabbed a 43-year-old male U.S. citizen at the I-5 checkpoint south of San Clemente. The dogs sniffed around the man's 2003 Ford Expedition and turned up 22 bundles of cocaine hidden inside the seats. The cocaine weighed 53.68 pounds and was worth an estimated $590,480. 

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, agents at the I-15 checkpoint near Murrieta stopped a 43-year-old woman, a Mexican national, driving a 1997 Accura Integra. The dogs sniffed out a two fire extinguishers, each stuffed with three pounds of meth worth about $120,000 total.

Later that same day, I-15 agents stopped a 19-year-old female U.S. citizen and her passenger in a '97 Ford Escort. The drug dog led agents to 12 bundles of methamphetamine inside the spare tire. The narcotics weighed 15.32 pounds and had an estimated street value of $306,400.

The U.S. Border Patrol seized all the vehicles, arrested the suspects and turned the dope over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.