San Ysidro

A bomb threat by an anonymous caller caused U.S. Customs Service agents to tighten security at the San Ysidro border station Wednesday afternoon, but no explosives were found and the hoax did not force the closure of the port of entry.

“The border was never actually closed, we just slowed (traffic through the station) to a trickle,” said Tom Shelton, director of inspection and control for the Customs Service’s San Diego district.

The call, which was received by the U.S. Border Patrol at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, said a bomb had been planted at the San Ysidro port of entry and would go off at 2 p.m., Shelton said.

Shortly before that time, Mexican officials stopped all traffic approaching the border station from the Tijuana side, while Customs agents slowed southbound traffic, Shelton said. After eight minutes, traffic was again allowed to flow freely across the border, he said.

Customs officials declined to discuss the motive behind the bomb threat--the third received by the Border Patrol this year--to avoid encouraging similar hoaxes in the future, Shelton said.