Border Patrol Foils Two Drug Smuggling Incidents

Border Patrol agents working near the Temecula checkpoint on Interstate 15 thwarted two illegal drug hauls this past week.

The first bust came Aug. 2 at approximately 9 a.m. after agents found six bundles of cocaine inside the spare tire of a white 1993 Mazda minivan.

The incident began when agents stopped the driver, a 27-year-old male Mexican national, who “appeared extremely nervous and was referred for a secondary inspection,” according to a U.S. Border Patrol news release. 

With the help of a Border Patrol K-9 team, agents discovered the cocaine inside a spare tire.

The total weight of the illegal drug was 16.93 pounds with an estimated street value of $169,300, the news release stated.

The next seizure came the following day when agents stopped a 20-year-old woman who was a U.S. citizen and a 37-year-old male Mexican national; the duo was travelling north on the I-15 near Temecula in a white 1994 Cadillac. 

After a Border Patrol K-9 team alerted agents, the car and the two occupants were referred for a secondary inspection at the checkpoint. Agents searched the Cadillac and discovered 15.65 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $313,000.

In both incidents, the suspected smugglers and drugs were taken into custody and subsequently turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The vehicles were seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.