'Trusted Traveler' Arrested for Alleged Narcotic Smuggling
(Thursday, February 12, 2009)
contacts for this news releaseSan Ysidro - A “trusted traveler” was arrested on Wednesday morning at the San Ysidro border station after CBP officers discovered more than 76 pounds of marijuana hidden in a Nissan Pathfinder that entered the U.S. using a SENTRI lane.The driver, a 23-year-old Mexican male registered to participate in the SENTRI fast-pass program, was arrested at about 6:30 a.m., after officers found 31 wrapped packages of the narcotics hidden in the roof of the vehicle.The car was referred to the secondary inspection lot after a narcotic detector dog alerted to the vehicle as it waited in a Secure Electronic Network for Traveler’s Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) traffic lane. The driver’s SENTRI privilege was revoked and the vehicle was seized by CBP officers. The driver later was transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to await arraignment on the alleged smuggling attempt. Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are investigating the incident.The SENTRI program was implemented at the Otay Mesa passenger port of entry in 1995 and at the San Ysidro border station in 2000. More than 100,000 travelers from both sides of the border currently are registered in the vehicle SENTRI program in the San Diego/Tijuana area. 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.
Contacts For This News Release
610 Ash Street Suite 1200 San Diego,
CA
92101
Vincent Bond Press Officer
Phone:
(619) 744-5224
Fax:
(619) 645-6641
CBP Headquarters
Office of Public Affairs
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Room 3.4A
Washington, DC 20229