U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at California’s San Ysidro Land Port of Entry seized narcotics worth over $9 million the weekend of Feb. 17-18, the agency announced Friday.
“CBP officers from the San Ysidro Port of Entry seized over $1 million worth of cocaine concealed in a commercial passenger bus, over the past weekend,” Sidney Aki, Director of Field Operations for the San Diego CBP Field Office, posted on X (formerly Twitter) Friday about one of the seizures.
All aboard the narcotics express 🚌! Bus seizure results in over $1 million worth of cocaine. 🚨🚨🚨
.@CBP officers from the San Ysidro Port of Entry seized over $1 million worth of cocaine concealed in a commercial passenger bus, over the past weekend. https://t.co/R7tephyndF
— Director of Field Operations Sidney Aki (@DFOSanDiegoCA) February 23, 2024
CBP officers, using the port’s imaging system and a K-9 team, spotted the cocaine stashed in the spare tire and air-conditioning system of an empty commercial passenger bus, according to a Friday press release by CBP. The bus was driven by a 64-year-old man seeking admission from Mexico at about 10:16 p.m. Feb. 17, CBP said. The drug, bound in 60 packages, collectively weighed 144.84 pounds and was estimated to fetch $1,116,900 on the street, according to the statement.
The officers seized the bus and the drugs; Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents took the driver into custody, CBP said.
About 18 hours earlier, officers seized 57 packages of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1,174,700 from “the roof and passenger side quarter panels” of a 21-year-old woman’s SUV, accordingto officals. The woman sought entry into the U.S. from Mexico at about 4 a.m. Feb. 17, according to the statement.
A 36-year-old female driver also seeking entry into the U.S. from Mexico at about 1 p.m. Feb. 18 was reportedly found in possession of 30 packages of fentanyl pills weighing 75.17 pounds and four packages of methamphetamine weighing 4.23 pounds. The 34 packages were collectively worth an estimated street value of $6,826,345, the statement noted.
The officers reportedly turned both women to HSI’s custody. (RELATED: ‘Significant Seizure’: CBP Seizes Cocaine Worth Over $3.5 Million At Southern Border Post)
The seizures were part of Operation Apollo, “a joint regional operation comprised of federal, state, and local agencies working to combat the threat from fentanyl, and other illicit synthetic narcotics,” the CBP stated.
“Phenomenal job this weekend by our CBP officers who work diligently to protect America’s front line and secure the border,” said Mariza Marin, Port Director of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to the statement. “Continuing to combat Transnational Criminal Organizations and disrupt the flow of illicit narcotics will always be a priority.”
In addition, nearly 13,101 pounds of alleged methamphetamine, worth $117.1 million, were seized Feb. 18 in a tractor-trailer load of drying agent for newborn piglets at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry in Texas, CBP announced Thursday. The “gargantuan” seizure was “the largest ever taken down by CBP officers at a port of entry,” the CBP added.