U.S. Border Patrol Seizes Methamphetamine at I-5 Checkpoint

Chula Vista Resident Concealed Narcotics Inside of Jacket

San Clemente, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents seized more than three pounds of methamphetamine yesterday, after it was discovered hidden inside the jacket of a 50-year-old female citizen of the United States at the I-5 checkpoint.

At approximately 9:45 a.m., a Concord shuttle van arrived to the I-5 Border Patrol checkpoint. The vehicle and its occupants were referred by agents to secondary inspection, where a Border Patrol K-9 team performed a cursory search of the vehicle which resulted in a positive alert. Agents instructed all occupants to disembark the shuttle.

While waiting for all occupants to exit the vehicle, a Border Patrol K-9 team alerted to a female passenger who had just stepped out of the van. An examination of the vehicle, the remaining occupants and their belongings yielded no illegal contraband.

A search of the female passenger’s belongings revealed two bundles of methamphetamine wrapped in cellophane and duct tape inside of her jacket. The methamphetamine weighed nearly 4 pounds with an estimated street value of $70,000.

The suspected smuggler and narcotics were taken into custody and subsequently turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Through coordinated enforcement operations, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a strong defense-in-depth enforcement posture along major routes of egress from the border to our nation’s interior.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.