Following on the heels of last Tuesday’s seizure of $1.2 million worth of cocaine at the Otay Mesa border crossing, Customs and Border Protection made an even bigger bust at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Friday evening.
This time, border agents say they found 187 pounds of cocaine concealed within the rear cargo area of a commercial passenger bus — about $1.4 million, according to the agency.
The cocaine was discovered when CBP officers detected “irregularities” in an empty commercial passenger bus that a 51-year-old man was driving into the United States from Mexico. Upon further examination, CBP officers discovered dozens of packages concealed within the rear cargo hold.
Officers found a total of 70 packages inside a compartment located in the side wall of the bus, with a total weight of 187.92 pounds of cocaine.
The man driving the bus was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations.
In a statement, port officials praised the role of technology in finding the smuggled drugs.
“Constant innovation is a cornerstone of CBP’s strategy to improve efficiency and security,” said Mariza Marin, port director at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
“By leveraging technology as a resource multiplier, we optimize our productivity without [compromising] the highest level of security.”
This seizure is the result of Operation Apollo, a counter-fentanyl CBP operation that was launched in October 2023. It focuses on intelligence collection and partnerships with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial entities to boost resources and increase collaboration between partners.
