San Diego

A 40-year-old Mexican national was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of possessing and smuggling $1.5 million worth of cocaine over the international border at Andrade, Calif., the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego said.

Jose Luis Perea-Meraz was arrested May 26 after Drug Enforcement Administration officials stopped him while he was crossing from Mexico into the United States and allegedly found 24 kilos of cocaine concealed in his Volkswagen. Perea-Meraz, who was detained without bail, faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and $500,000 in fines, the U.S. attorney’s office said.