Shots Fired at Border Agents as Cocaine Is Seized

Two men in Mexico fired 13 shots Wednesday at U.S. Border Patrol agents who were recovering a van packed with 507 pounds of cocaine from the All-American Canal near here, officials said.

The agents, who did not return fire, were not hit in the 6 a.m. incident about 10 miles east of Calexico, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, said Supervisory Agent William Botts.

Agents had watched as several people floated bundles across the canal and loaded them into the van, which was parked on the north side of the border. Agents moved in as the van was driven away from the canal.

But the driver and the van ended up in the swift-moving water of the canal, which runs parallel to the border and brings the Imperial Valley its water. The driver escaped, Botts said.

“At that time two individuals jumped up from the south side and fired 13 shots. The agents took cover,” he said.

After the shooting, other agents determined that it was safe for the recovery operation to resume. The 507 pounds of cocaine was found in the van.

The incident capped a 30-hour period in which Border Patrol agents working near Calexico seized just over 2,400 pounds of marijuana and 600 pounds of cocaine, Botts said.