Three Mexican nationals tied to cross-border trucking companies were charged in San Diego federal court following the discovery of a massive cache of drugs, cash and ammunitions stockpiled at an Otay Mesa truck yard, the U.S. attorney’s office said. The cumulative seizure — $3.5 million in cash, 685 kilograms of cocaine, 24 kilograms of fentanyl, about 20,000 rounds of .50-caliber ammunition and hundreds of body armor vests — is believed to be the largest of its kind in the Southern District of California, federal prosecutors said.
Caption: “More than 127 lbs. of meth was seized this weekend by #BorderPatrol agents. In separate events, vigilant agents found meth hidden inside a gas tank & packed in a spare tire.”
Caption: “Criminals don’t see vehicles the way you do. They see door panels, seats, gas tanks, tires & everything in between as an opportunity to hide their illicit items. @CBP’s committed to detecting their contraband & putting the brakes on criminal organizations.”
Caption: “Shoe-Smuggler. #BorderPatrol Agents arrested a 19-year-old man for smuggling fentanyl pills in the soles of his shoes last Friday. Fentanyl is 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to @DEAHQ.”
Caption: “More meth. An eagle-eyed #BorderPatrol Agent spotted these two bottles of liquid meth hidden alongside a dirt road near El Camino Del Diablo, west of Ajo, #Arizona late Friday. Dangerous stuff.”
Caption: “USBP Horse Patrol & ground agents apprehended 2 narcotics smugglers with 62.6 lbs. of marijuana, valued at $50,808, strapped to their backs.”
Caption: “#Tucson Sector #BorderPatrol Agents arrested 2 smugglers and seized more than 150 pounds of meth, fentanyl, and heroin in three separate seizures last weekend. Thanks to the Agents’ hard work for keeping drugs off the streets.”
Former Border Patrol chief Victor Manjarrez says that the international travel restrictions have resulted in large drug seizures at the ports of entry due to CBP’s ability to perform more comprehensive inspections. Now the associate director at the Center for Law and Human Behavior at the University of Texas, Manjarrez notes that smugglers are reverting to more dangerous methods like sending drug mules across the desert or the Rio Grande.
