Agents Seize 1 1/2 Tons of Cocaine at Border Crossing

U.S. Customs inspectors at the Otay Mesa border crossing seized 2,907 pounds of cocaine that smugglers had hidden aboard a 40-foot flatbed trailer filled with scrap metal from Mexico, authorities said Saturday.

The bust was believed to be the third largest involving cocaine in San Diego County history.

The seizure occurred about 5 p.m. Friday when the truck was stopped at the Otay Mesa Cargo Inspection Facility so it could be sniffed by dogs trained to detect narcotics. According to Bobbie Cassidy, spokeswoman for U.S. Customs, the bricks of cocaine were hidden in 32 cardboard cartons packed in a large metal box that was covered by piles of loose scrap.

The 1 1/2 tons of cocaine has an estimated street value of $106 million, she said.

Customs agents arrested the driver of the truck, Alfredo Angon Rivera, 37, of Los Angeles for investigation of smuggling a controlled substance.

If convicted, Rivera will face a minimum of 10 years and could be fined up to $4 million, according to the spokeswoman.

Customs inspectors also seized 3 cartons from the truck containing 230 pounds of marijuana.

Friday’s bust brings the total amount of narcotics seized by U.S. Customs officers in San Diego to 15,828 pounds of cocaine and 29,747 pounds of marijuana since July 1.

On June 26, federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized 3,456 pounds of cocaine and 240 pounds of marijuana from two vans, one in National City and one in Imperial Beach.

Three men were arrested in what was described at the time as the second largest cocaine seizure in San Diego County.

The largest cocaine seizure in the county occurred last October--also at the Otay Mesa facility--when Customs officials seized nearly 4 tons of cocaine that was hidden in a propane tanker from Mexico.

It was the largest drug seizure ever at a U.S. land border crossing, authorities say.