Customs and Border Protection Seizes $10 Million Worth of Drugs in San Diego

By David Matthews

New York Daily News

SAN DIEGO — In a major drug bust, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have intercepted narcotics with an estimated street value of $10 million. The drugs, which included cocaine and methamphetamine, were cleverly concealed within vats of jalapeño paste. The incident took place at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility in San Diego on December 13.

The CBP officers, assisted by highly trained K-9 dogs, successfully detected the illicit cargo hidden inside a commercial tractor-trailer during a routine inspection. Upon further investigation, authorities discovered nearly 350 suspicious packages concealed within the containers of jalapeño paste.

Upon testing the contents of the packages, it was confirmed that they contained approximately 3,161.43 pounds of methamphetamine and 522.50 pounds of cocaine. The total weight of the seized narcotics amounted to 3,684 pounds.

The Otay Mesa Port director, Rosa Hernandez, commended the efforts of the K-9 teams, stating, “Our K-9 teams are an invaluable component of our counter-narcotics operations, providing a reliable and unparalleled mobile detection capability. By implementing local operations under Operation Apollo and CBP’s Strategy to Combat Fentanyl and other Synthetic Drugs, we will continue to secure communities and suppress the growth of transnational criminal organizations, one seizure after another.”

The driver of the vehicle, a 28-year-old man, possessed a valid border crossing card, which is a U.S.-issued visa granted to Mexican citizens and residents. He was promptly handed over to Homeland Security Investigations for further questioning and legal proceedings.

According to the CBP, this seizure is part of their ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking. In November alone, they confiscated over 14,000 pounds of narcotics at various border crossing points in the San Diego area.