Half-Ton Of Marijuana Seized In Frozen Fish Shipment
SAN DIEGO (CBSLA.com) — Marijuana packages in bed of truck at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry seized more than half a ton of marijuana hidden in a shipment of fish, officials said Friday.
The driver, a 29-year-old Mexican citizen, arrived at the border crossing at about 2 p.m. Wednesday driving a tractor trailer with a shipment of frozen tongue fish. according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The CBP officer referred the driver, truck, and shipment for a more intensive inspection. Border Patrol officers using imaging technology saw anomalies within the cargo, and a CBP officer with a detector dog screened the shipment, resulting in the detector dog alerting officers.
As many as 232 packages of marijuana were found hidden in the cargo shipment, weighing about 1,058 pounds and with an estimated street value of $476,000.
Officers seized the narcotics and the truck, and turned the driver over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The driver was booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center and will face federal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego.
