U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico East commercial facility found the illegal drugs, worth an estimated $726,000, hidden in a shipment of scrap metal.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized more than 1,815 pounds of marijuana, valued at an estimated $726,000, at the Calexico East commercial port facility, according to a statement from the agency.
CBP officers at the United States-Mexico border crossing, one of two entry ports connecting the cities of Calexico, Calif. and Mexicali, Baja California, found the illegal drugs hidden inside a shipment of scrap metal.
During an inspection of a commercial cargo truck, officers discovered 64 foil wrapped bundles concealed in metal boxes and mixed in with the declared crates of scrap metal that tested positive for marijuana.
CBP seized the marijuana, the truck and trailer, and turned the driver, a 39-year-old male Mexican citizen and Mexicali resident over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigation agents for further processing.
“Out of the hundreds of shipments that the officers saw that day, they identified that this shipment needed to be stopped,” Pete Flores, CBP director of field operations for San Diego and Imperial counties, said in a statement. “As a result, the officers prevented almost a ton of marijuana from entering U.S. communities, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential profit from reaching criminal organizations.”
In fiscal year 2014, the CBP San Diego Field Office seized 132,075 pounds of marijuana at border crossings between California and Mexico.
CBP seizes 1,815 pounds of marijuana at Calexico port
