$100,000 in Marijuana Seized at San Clemente Border Checkpoint

About 60 pounds of marijuana valued at more than $100,000 were seized in two separate incidents at the border checkpoint near San Clemente, Border Patrol agents said Thursday.

Two men, one a Riverside resident and the other from Moreno Valley, were arrested without incident on suspicion of drug trafficking. Border Patrol officials said their names will be withheld pending arraignment.

Vehicles passing through the checkpoint, which is about 10 miles south of San Clemente on Interstate 5, are stopped and searched randomly for possible illegal immigrants and drug smuggling.

The first seizure occurred Wednesday about 3 p.m., when Border Patrol agents asked the lone occupant of a car to pull over to a secondary inspection station.

Agents looked through the trunk and inside the car, but found nothing. However, a further search revealed a hidden compartment rigged on the undercarriage of the car between the gas tank and the floor of the trunk.

About 40 pounds of marijuana valued at $62,000 were removed from the trunk. The suspect, a 39-year-old Riverside man, and the contraband were turned over to federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

About four hours later, agents made the second seizure. An inspector with a drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to the presence of marijuana and the drug was found after removing a rear interior panel of a car.

The driver, a 28-year-old Moreno Valley man, was transferred along with 24 pounds of marijuana to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. The confiscated drug has a street value of $38,000, Border Patrol officials said.

“They both exhibited nervous mannerisms that led our agents to become suspicious of them,” said Steve Kean, a Border Patrol spokesman. “Typically, these people pointedly look away and don’t pay attention to the agent.”

Wednesday’s seizures and arrests followed the discovery Monday of 34 pounds of marijuana in a station wagon. The car was driven by a 20-year-old immigrant from Tijuana who was turned over to DEA agents along with the marijuana. The drug was valued at about $50,000.

Since October, Border Patrol officials say they have confiscated 3,443 pounds of marijuana and seized $128,990 in currency.