San Diego — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers yesterday found 437 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of a SENTRI member’s vehicle and discovered 2,090 pounds of marijuana comingled with bottles of fabric softener.
On July 30, at about 5 a.m., a 28-year-old male U.S. citizen driving a 2009 Toyota Corolla entered the San Ysidro port of entry for inspection, through a SENTRI lane. The CBP officer conducted an inspection of the vehicle’s trunk and found large packages of marijuana.
The driver and vehicle were escorted for further processing. CBP officers subsequently extracted 45 wrapped packages of marijuana from the trunk, valued at almost $20,000.
Several hours later at about 11:30 a.m. at the Otay Mesa cargo facility, a 43-year-old male Mexican citizen entered the port driving a 1995 Kenworth tractor pulling a trailer with a Shipment of liquid fabric softener. The CBP officer referred the driver and conveyance to the dock for further investigation.
Officers offloaded several pallets of merchandise and discovered packages of marijuana inside the boxes. Officers removed 124 packages of marijuana from the boxes, valued at more than $940,000.
The drivers in both cases were arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center. CBP seized the vehicle, marijuana, and tractor-trailer.
