Border Agents Find 600 Pounds of Marijuana After Car Chase

Immigration agents found 600 pounds of marijuana early Wednesday in a car abandoned by its driver just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said.

The driver fled on foot into Mexico and was not caught, said Michael Gregg, supervisory agent with the U.S. Border Patrol, which found the drugs.

The load, with an estimated street value of $1.2 million, is part of an increasing volume of marijuana and other illicit drugs being seized by U.S. immigration agents in the border area, Gregg said.

Wednesday’s discovery occurred shortly after 6 a.m. just west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, Gregg said.

Investigators suspect that smugglers carried marijuana-laden duffle bags across the border on foot and loaded them into the waiting sedan, which presumably was to transport the contraband north.

A Border Patrol agent, positioned in a nearby vehicle, spotted the parked car and became suspicious, following it when it was driven into the parking lot of a nearby convenience store, Gregg said.

From there, the sedan sped off and made a U-turn toward Mexico with the Border Patrol vehicle in pursuit. The sedan’s engine stalled just north of the border, Gregg said, and the driver jumped out, sprinting the 75 yards back into Mexico.

The confiscation brings to 14,000 pounds the amount of marijuana seized during the current fiscal year by Border Patrol officers, Gregg said. That figure is about double the amount seized in San Diego during the same period last year, he said.