U.S. Customs Seizes $67 Million in Drugs at San Diego Border Posts During July

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than $67 million worth of illegal narcotics at seven San Diego-area ports of entry during July as the Trump administration ramped up enforcement operations along the southwestern border. The Department of Homeland Security announced the confiscations, which resulted from intensified interdiction efforts by CBP’s San Diego Field Office.

CBP personnel apprehended smugglers across 144 separate incidents from July 1 through July 31, recovering a total of 8,359 pounds of controlled substances. Sidney Aki, field operations director for the San Diego office, said the seizures demonstrated the agency’s dedication to keeping dangerous drugs out of U.S. communities.

The drug haul comprised 553 pounds of fentanyl, 36 pounds of heroin, 2,572 pounds of cocaine, and 5,077 pounds of methamphetamine, according to federal officials. DHS valued the combined street price of all intercepted substances at approximately $67 million.

In a separate operation earlier this month at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, agents discovered 16 pounds of fentanyl hidden inside an electric moped crossing from Tijuana into San Diego. A 22-year-old Mexican national was arrested in connection with the seizure, which authorities assessed at nearly $240,000.

Border agents also intercepted a vehicle attempting to cross from Arizona into Mexico carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher tube, four rifles, an AK-style pistol, 16 additional AK rifles, 24 rifle magazines, 16 rifle stocks, and 20 pistol grips. Officials did not disclose further details about that weapons interdiction.