OTAY MESA, San Diego — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry seized 286 pounds of meth and 26 pounds of fentanyl hidden in the sleeper cab of a tractor-trailer truck on Thursday.
“Even in the midst of a global pandemic, we continue to see attempts to move hard narcotics across the border and into U.S. communities,” said Pete Flores, Director of Field Operations for CBP in San Diego. “CBP officers at all of our nation’s legal border crossings remain on the job and vigilant during these unprecedented times.”
At about 7 a.m. on July 23, a driver arrived at the commercial border crossing with a shipment of recycled cardboard; CBP officers referred the truck and driver for an imaging scan and an in-depth examination.
When examining the cab, the CBP officer lifted the sleeper compartment and found two black duffel bags hidden inside. CBP officers removed 64 cellophane-wrapped packages from inside the bags; 59 of the packages contained methamphetamine and five contained fentanyl.
The driver, a 36-year-old Mexican citizen with a valid border-crossing card, was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center to face federal charges.
According to the DEA, fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin, is extremely dangerous to law enforcement and anyone else who may come into contact with it. As a result, it represents an unusual hazard for law enforcement.
