Mexican National Arrested for Attempting to Smuggle Over $400,000 of Drugs into US

SAN CLEMENTE –  Over $400,000 worth of heroin and methamphetamine were located by U.S. Border Patrol Agents on Valentine’s Day.

The 1993 Ford F150 truck was stopped on the shoulder on the I-5 just a half a mile from the Border Patrol checkpoint near San Clemente just before noon. A Border Patrol agent pulled behind the truck and made contact with the driver, a 27-year-old Mexican national.

The Border Patrol k-9 alerted to the pickup truck indicating illegal drugs were present. During a search of the vehicle 19 bundles of methamphetamine and brown heroin inside the gas tank. “The methamphetamine weighed 48.61 pounds and has an estimated street value of $165,274,” CBP officials said.  “The heroin weighed 28.66 pounds and has an estimated street value of $272,270.  The combined value was $437,544.”

The driver was arrested and the vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol. “Due to the diligence of this K-9 team, we once again have prevented dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities,” stated Deputy Patrol Agent in Charge Jeffery Mielke.

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