see also: in July 2003:   CBP Inspectors Seize $2.4 Million In Narcotics at Laredo Port of Entry   CBP Inspectors Seize Large Cocaine Load at Eagle Pass Port of Entry   China Signs Declaration of Principles With Container Security Initiative to Target and Pre-Screen Cargo Destined for U.S.   CBP Officers at Otay Mesa Seize Over 4,400 Pounds of Marijuana   CBP Inspectors Seize $15.5 Million in Cocaine at Pharr International Bridge Last Week   U.S., Mexican Officials Announce 24-Hour Service at Otay Mesa Port of Entry   Department of Homeland Security Proposes Regulations to Improve Cargo Security ...more on cbp.gov:   Press Officers   CBP News Releases

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San Diego -- Four men were arrested and a small boat was seized Sunday afternoon after federal officers found 1,372 pounds of marijuana hidden in the vessel when it docked at Mission Bay, officials announced today.

The vessel, a California registered 21-foot Bayliner pleasure boat, and its three occupants were initially detected entering the U.S. at about 9 a.m. by a radar-equipped patrol boat manned by officers of the bureaus of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) working on a joint operation.

The officers tracked the boat until it was visually spotted one mile inside the U.S. where they contacted the three Hispanic males onboard and directed them to report to the Harbor Police dock at Shelter Island to lawfully report their arrival in the U.S., officials said.

Officers on the patrol boat and in surveillance aircraft overhead continued to track the boat as it passed San Diego Bay and eventually docked at Mission Bay and was met by two males in a 1992 Chevrolet Suburban who loaded the vessel onto a boat trailer.

Nearby Border Patrol agents participating in the operation detained the five men but one of the vessel occupants subsequently eluded arrest when he fled, officials said. Agents are currently searching for the individual.

Agents searched the vessel and found numerous duffle bags and wrapped packages of marijuana valued at approximately $1 million in the front cabin, under the floor plates and in the engine compartment, officials said, adding that the boat, vehicle and trailer were subsequently seized.

Arrested were vessel occupants Elias Acevedo-Benitez, a resident alien, and Jorge Naranjo-Pelayo of Mexico. Also arrested as occupants of the Suburban were the driver, Ricardo Viramontes, an U.S. citizen, and Barber Naranjo-Pelayo, Jorge's brother, also of Mexico.

The four were transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego to face arraignment on charges of unlawful importation of a controlled substance.

The operation was conducted by an ongoing taskforce composed of ICE, CBP, U.S. Coast Guard and San Diego Harbor Police officers to ensure that pleasure boats returning from Mexico report to the Harbor Police dock to notify CBP officials of their arrival in the U.S.