When Border Patrol agents responded near the San Ysidro Port of Entry, they came across a 16-year-old boy who told them an “unlikely story” of hiking in the area.
SAN DIEGO — U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a 16-year-old boy after he attempted to smuggle nearly 27 pounds of methamphetamine into the United States last Saturday. This incident comes as Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector closes on a new record for narcotic seizures.
On Aug. 30, at 10:40 p.m., surveillance camera operators witnessed a suspicious person in a remote area, approximately one mile east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry and a few hundred yards north of the U.S.-Mexico border, carrying two dark duffel bags, according to Customs and Border Protection.
When Border Patrol agents responded to the area, they came across a 16-year-old boy who told them an “unlikely story” of hiking in the area, and the two duffel bags previously seen by operators were missing, CBP said. A Border Patrol Detection K-9 unit responded to the incident and found the two duffel bags nearby.
Upon inspection, officials said both of the bags were filled with water bottles wrapped in black electrical tape. The bottles were filled with a crystalline substance consistent with previous narcotic seizures.
“These criminal organizations have no reservations about using a minor to smuggle their poison and ruining a juvenile’s future is of little consequence to them,” Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey D. Stalnaker said in a release. “No matter what these criminals try, I know our agents will be there to thwart their plans.”
Meanwhile, both the packages and the teen were taken to a nearby Border Patrol station for further investigation and processing. The contents of the water bottles tested positive for methamphetamine, and a total of 26.89 pounds of methamphetamine, worth around $32,000 in street value, were recovered from the bags, officials said.
The 16-year-old and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for additional investigation.
The CBP is asking the public to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact 911, or the San Diego Sector at (619) 498-9900.