Border Patrol seizes nearly $10 million in cocaine in back-to-back California stops

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized more than 1,435 pounds of suspected cocaine worth about $9.8 million during two vehicle inspections just three minutes apart at the San Clemente checkpoint in Southern California, Customs and Border Protection said.

On Oct. 25, San Diego Sector agents referred two vehicles for secondary inspection after spotting suspicious behavior — including one driver trying to reverse out of the checkpoint. A canine alerted on both vehicles, and agents found 550 vacuum-sealed packages hidden in black garbage bags. Field tests were presumptive positive for cocaine.

Both drivers were arrested, and the DEA took custody pending federal prosecution. San Clemente Station Patrol Agent in Charge J.D. Scott said the checkpoint is heading for a record year in narcotics interdictions, crediting all-time-low illegal entries that let agents keep the I-5 corridor checkpoint open longer.