A K-9 at a California checkpoint helped Border Patrol agents discover thousands of dollars of meth and heroin inside a Mexican national's car last week, only to bust another cocaine smuggler when he tried to pass the same checkpoint hours later.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials came across the first smuggler as he pulled up to a checkpoint on Interstate 5 in San Clemente shortly after 2 p.m. last Wednesday, according to a Border Protection press release.
The 44-year-old Mexican national tried to avoid the checkpoint by not stopping, prompting agents to block his car and ask for identification. As the agents inspected his documents, which were sketchy, a K-9 caught a whiff of something and alerted officials to the vehicle.
A search of the man's Nisan Sentra turned up "13 bundles of narcotics inside the driver's side rear-door panel and 15 more bundles on the passenger side," the agency said.
"There were an additional five bundles hidden inside the rear wheel wells."
The bundles, seven with heroin and 26 with meth, have an estimated street value of $519,880.
Agents seized the alleged smuggler's Sentra and turned him over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Less than five hours later, a K-9 busted another Mexican national inside a "suspicious vehicle" at the San Clemente checkpoint. A search ensued and agents found 15 cocaine bundles inside the 33-year-old's Dodge Ram truck. His vehicle was also seized and DEA took him into custody.
The cocaine's estimated street value is $498,690, bringing the total value of the seized drugs to over $1 million.
"To prevent the illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance on corridors of egress away from our Nation's borders," the agency said.
Both men face charges of narcotic smuggling.
