Calexico Port Officers Seize 51 Pounds of Cocaine

Calexico, Calif. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico downtown port of entry arrested a mother and daughter after finding 51 pounds of cocaine in the vehicle they occupied when they entered the port yesterday.

The seizure occurred at about 10 a.m. when officers with the port’s Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team were screening vehicles and travelers as they waited in line for inspection and a canine alerted to a red 1997 Ford Mustang. The driver, a 20-year-old female U.S. citizen, and her mother, a 39-year-old Mexican citizen, were escorted for further examination.

An intensive inspection of the vehicle led officers to the discovery of 22 wrapped packages of cocaine concealed inside both fenders. The estimated street value of the narcotic is $459,000.

CBP officers arrested both the driver and passenger for the alleged narcotic smuggling attempt. The daughter and her mother were turned over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and transported to the Imperial County Jail where they await arraignment.

CBP seized the narcotic and vehicle.

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.