Cocaine Valued at $10 Million Seized

In the second such seizure in less than three days, U.S. Border Patrol agents confiscated $10 million worth of cocaine Friday after stopping a 23-year-old San Diego man near a checkpoint near Temecula, authorities said.

On Tuesday, agents found 656 pounds of cocaine worth $10 million after stopping a car on Pala Road near the same checkpoint. At the time, agents said the find was believed to be the largest cocaine haul in San Diego County history.

Friday’s arrest took place about 1 p.m. when agents noticed that a 1985 Ford passing through the checkpoint a few miles south of the Riverside County line bounced and swayed suspiciously.

A Mexican national living in the area was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, authorities said.

Authorities said the drug was packaged in 300 1-kilogram bricks, and that about half of the drug was found in 10 gift boxes wrapped in Christmas paper.

So far this fiscal year, agents have confiscated five times as much cocaine as in the previous year, authorities said. More than half of the seizures have taken place near the international border with help from Mexican authorities.