7 tons of pot, worth $8.6 million, seized from trailer at border crossing
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Reporting from San Diego — A 7-ton load of marijuana valued at an estimated $8.6 million was discovered in a truck trailer whose driver was trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico at Otay Mesa, authorities said Friday.
The truck manifest said it was carrying “metal racks,” but a Customs and Border Protection dog sniffed out the drugs, officials said in a statement.
The 45-year-old driver, a Mexican citizen, drove the tractor-trailer rig into the cargo facility at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday. The driver was directed to an X-ray inspection of the rig.
Officers found “an anomaly” with the X-ray of the cargo and had a Customs dog screen the truck, officials said.
When the dog reacted to the trailer, officers found 722 packages of marijuana, weighing nearly 15,000 pounds, tucked into boxes.
Customs and Border Protection officers seized the cargo and the truck. The driver was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations agents.
Repard writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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