CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / SAN CLEMENTE
U.S. Border Patrol agents uncovered 36 pounds of cocaine hidden in the door panels of a car at a rest area.
The agents discovered the contraband Wednesday after following the driver, who was displaying suspicious behavior while traveling north on Interstate 5. The agents followed the Ford Crown Victoria into the rest area and learned that the driver was a 22-year-old male Mexican national traveling in the country illegally. After a K-9 team searched the car, agents discovered 13 bundles of cocaine in the door panels.
The cocaine had an estimated street value of $360,000. The suspected smuggler was turned over to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
-- My-Thuan Tran
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