Crime & Safety

Border Patrol Snags $500K in Meth, Cocaine

Agents make three stops in San Diego County -- one at the checkpoint just south of San Clemente -- netting the drugs.

In three separate incidents this week, the U.S. Border Patrol busted alleged smugglers carrying a combined 36.4 pounds of meth and cocaine with an estimated street value of $500,000.

At 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, agents at the San Clemente checkpoint on the 5 Freeway stopped a 30-year-old U.S. man driving a 1991 Jeep Cherokee, according to a Border Patrol press release.

The man acted cagey when questioned, so agents brought in a drug dog. The K-9 sniffed out 12 bundles of crystal meth in the speaker box, weighing 14.11 pounds and worth $211,650, the press release states.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At 1:40 p.m. Monday, agents at the I-15 checkpoint stopped a 22-year-old U.S. man driving a 2006 Nissan Altima. When the driver and passenger acted nervous, agents brought out the drug dog, the release said. The animal sniffed out 2.09 pounds of methamphetamine in a fake dashboard, agents said. The Border Patrol said the meth had a street value of $41,800.

At 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, agents at the I-8 checkpoint stopped a 39-year-old U.S. man driving a 2003 BMW X5. This driver also acted nervous, promting inspection by the K-9 unit. The dog detected drugs in the engine compartment and cargo area of the vehicle. The engine's electrical box was stuffed with 3.18 pounds of met worth $63,600, the Border Patrol said. And a cardboard box in the cargo area contained 17.06 pounds of coke worth $187,660, agents said.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Border Patrol kept the vehicles and turned over the drugs and suspects to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

For some context on this story, read Patch.com's three-part series on :


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.