TECATE, Calif. — Customs officers seized approximately $3.4 million worth of marijuana in a shipment of decorative clay pots at the border between California and Mexico, authorities said Wednesday.
According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Tecate Cargo Facility encountered a 53-year-old man driving a tractor-trailer at 8:49 a.m. PDT. The shipment manifests on the truck noted that the vehicle was carrying the clay planters.
Customs officers referred the driver, who had a valid border crossing card, to a secondary inspection, according to the news release.
The driver, a valid border crossing card holder, was referred for further examination by CBP officers along with the tractor-trailer and shipment.
During the secondary inspection, customs officers discovered 132 packages. The contents were tested and identified, and the packages had a combined weight of 1,719.16 pounds, customs officials said.
The estimated street value of the marijuana was $3.4 million.
Agents seized the drugs and vehicle turned the driver over to Homeland Security Investigations, the news release stated.
“Our CBP officers are at the forefront of this fight and rise every day to face challenges with tenacity and integrity,” Rosa Hernandez, Otay Mesa’s port director, said in a statement. “Marijuana continues to be illegal under federal law and these types of narcotic interceptions play a critical role in our border security mission.”
