see also: in January 2005 Press Releases:   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Reinstates Testing of the Automated Commercial Environment at Blaine   National Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar Transfers Command to Chief Patrol Agent Michael C. Nicley   Compliance Date for Implementation of FAST Card Requirement for BRASS Shipment Drivers Begins May 1   Personal Radiation Detectors Alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers to Radioactive Emission   Port of Calexico to Employ High-Tech Security Equipment   FY 2004: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Apprehends Large Amount of Narcotics, Thousands of Undocumented Migrants ...more on cbp.gov:   Press Officers   CBP News Releases

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OTAY MESA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry arrested two Mexican male drivers and seized over 11,700 pounds of marijuana from a tractor-trailer rig that entered the port Friday afternoon, January 28, officials announced today.

CBP officers found 1,082 wrapped packages of the narcotic valued at $5 million hidden behind boxes of plaster goods inside the 53-foot trailer of an International tractor-trailer with California-plates, officials said.

“This seizure illustrates our continued efforts on narcotics interdiction in addition to our critical homeland security role as the nation’s border agency,” said Adele Fasano, field operations director for CBP in San Diego. “It also highlights the strong cooperative role between CBP officers who make the seizures and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who investigate them. Such efforts keep dangerous drugs out of our nation and off our streets.”

Officers ordered the tractor rig to the port’s gamma-ray facility for an intensive examination. The examination revealed a discrepancy in the trailer and a drug-sniffing dog alerted to the scent of narcotics on the conveyance. After unloading boxes of plaster vases and other goods, officers found boxes containing a total of 11,733 pounds of marijuana.

The driver, a 28-year old Tijuana man, was arrested by special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Another truck driver, a 32-year old Tijuana man, also was arrested as an alleged accomplice and his 1981 Kenworth tractor-trailer loaded with machinery was seized by CBP officers.

The two men were transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to face arraignment in federal district court.

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.