U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped two separate smuggling attempts at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry on April 28, seizing more than 225 pounds of cocaine and discovering a woman concealed inside a vehicle’s dashboard compartment.
At San Ysidro, officers referred a 21-year-old American man driving a Ford F-250 to secondary inspection. A search revealed 102 kilograms (about 225 pounds) of cocaine hidden in the truck’s spare tire and gas tank. CBP estimated the street value at $4.3 million.
At Otay Mesa, a 20-year-old American man driving a Toyota Camry was also sent to secondary inspection. Officers found a 31-year-old Chinese woman concealed inside a custom compartment built into the vehicle’s dashboard.
Both Drivers Face Federal Charges
Both drivers were arrested and face federal charges. CBP seized the drugs and both vehicles. San Diego Director of Field Operations Sidney K. Aki commented on the cases, noting that smugglers “will go to creative and dangerous lengths to move narcotics and people across the border.”
The two incidents occurred on the same day at Tijuana’s main legal border crossings into San Diego County. San Ysidro is the busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere, handling tens of thousands of northbound vehicle crossings daily. Otay Mesa, located about seven miles to the east, serves both passenger and commercial traffic.
Cocaine Seizures Continue to Climb
The busts are part of a broader pattern of intensified enforcement at San Diego area ports. CBP reported that since the start of the current administration through March 31, agents have seized more than 83,000 pounds of cocaine along the entire southwest border.
Just days before the April 28 incidents, CBP officers at San Ysidro arrested a 25-year-old “trusted traveler” with more than 60 pounds of cocaine worth over $1.15 million hidden in the doors of his vehicle. On April 25, officers at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility seized over 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine worth nearly $5 million from a cargo trailer.
Secondary inspection technology, including non-intrusive imaging systems and drug-detection dogs, has driven many of the recent seizures. For regular border crossers, the heightened scrutiny can mean longer wait times when referred to secondary screening.
The April 28 incidents were first reported by Punto Norte and confirmed by a CBP national media release published May 8.