see also: in July 2008:   CBP Discovers 2.7 Tons of Marijuana on Cargo Box Truck   Holiday Travel Reminder for Northwest Border Crossers   Current, Former CBP Employees Assist in Arrest of Purse Snatchers   CBP Officers Arrest Man Wanted for Failure to Register as Sex Offender   California SENTRI Participant in Hot Water, CBP Finds Dope in Vehicle   CBP Officers Arrest Man Wanted for Aggravated Sexual Assault on Minor   CBP Revokes Trusted Traveler Privileges After Finding Prohibited Items During Inspection ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Temecula, Calif. — The prevention of two separate marijuana smuggling attempts in North County demonstrates how interior checkpoints and coordinated enforcement efforts increases the Border Patrol’s effectiveness to detect, deter, and apprehend smugglers of humans, drugs, and other contraband.

Agents discovered 80 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of a Volkswagen Jetta Tuesday afternoon on northbound Interstate 15 in Temecula, near the Border Patrol checkpoint.

Shortly before 5 p.m., an agent stopped the vehicle and he encountered a 33-year-old male driver, along with his wife and child, all of whom were Mexican citizens legally traveling within the country. As the agent interviewed the driver, he noticed a strong odor inside the vehicle. A subsequent Border Patrol K-9 inspection prompted agents to search the trunk of the vehicle, which contained the marijuana.

Yesterday afternoon, agents seized 265 pounds of marijuana after they stopped a 22-year-old male, who was driving a Toyota Camry in Rainbow.

An agent suspected the man was attempting to elude inspection at the Border Patrol checkpoint by exiting northbound Interstate 15 at Rainbow Valley Boulevard. After the agent noticed a strong odor inside the vehicle, he asked for permission to search the trunk, which contained several bundles of marijuana. The agent immediately arrested the driver of the vehicle, who is a Mexican citizen illegally in the country.

The illicit narcotics and both drivers in the two smuggling incidents were turned over to a multi-agency, anti-drug task force.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.