Border Patrol Seizes Nearly 50 Pounds Of Cocaine In Traffic Stop In Southern California

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol last week seized nearly 50 pounds of cocaine during a traffic stop in Southern California.

Border Patrol agents from the San Clemente Station stopped a sedan traveling northbound on Interstate 5 near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton at around 5:45 p.m. Thursday. After speaking with the driver, agents requested assistance from a K-9 unit.

After. a positive alert from the K-9, agents searched the vehicle’s trunk and found two white trash bags filled with cellophane-wrapped packages. Agents transported the vehicle, the suspected narcotics, the male driver and adult male passenger to a nearby Border Patrol station.

The contents of the packages tested positive for “characteristics of cocaine.” The packages contained a total of 47.51 pounds of suspected cocaine, with an estimated street value of nearly $810,000.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of the cocaine, and the vehicle was seized by Border Patrol. The driver and the passenger now face drug trafficking charges.

“Rest assured that the agents of San Diego Sector are out there around the clock protecting the American people,” San Diego Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey D. Stalnaker said in a statement. “We will do everything within our power to stop those who would do us harm, and to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

CBP said there have been several large drug seizures on San Diego County highways recently. On Feb. 19, 18 pounds of fentanyl were seized along Interstate 15, and on Feb. 18, 143 pounds of cocaine were seized along I-5.