see also: in January 2007 News Releases:   Membership of Trade/Customs Advisory Committee Announced   CBP Border Patrol Launches Massive Search to Preserve Life   CBP Officers Make 22 Drug Busts at Calexico Ports During Busy Week   3,010 Pounds of Marijuana Seized at Nogales Port of Entry   CBP Border Patrol Makes a Record Drug Bust   Registration Underway for Third CBP Conference on ACE   CBP Officers Nab Mother/Daughter Cocaine Smugglers; Juveniles With Marijuana Loads Also Nabbed This Week ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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San Diego - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Ports of San Ysidro continued to keep the public safe by stopping dangerous people and narcotics from entering the country over the busy Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Officers interdicted more than 1,400 pounds of marijuana in six incidents and 12 fugitives including a man wanted with a bail amount of $500,000 from Saturday, January 13 through Monday, January 15.

The largest seizure occurred yesterday afternoon at about 2:30 p.m. when officers encountered two men in a white Ford F-350 truck pulling a trailer who applied for entry through the San Ysidro border crossing. The primary officer referred the conveyance and occupants to the secondary area for a more in-depth examination. During the secondary inspection, a narcotic detector dog alerted to the trailer. The conveyance was X-rayed and anomalies were noticed in the rear wall of the trailer. CBP officers subsequently extracted 49 packages that field tested positive for marijuana, weighing more than 900 pounds.

The marijuana, truck, and trailer were seized by CBP. The men, both U.S. citizens from San Diego, were arrested on drug charges and transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

The estimated street value of the 1,400 pounds of marijuana intercepted by CBP officers is almost $500,000.

CBP officers encountered 64-year old Gilberto Martinez Gonzalez on Sunday, January 14, at about 10:30 a.m. when he entered the U.S. as a pedestrian through the San Ysidro port. Martinez was referred for a secondary inspection when it was revealed there was a warrant for his arrest. During the secondary inspection,

officers captured a 10-print digital image of his fingerprints and ran them through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) confirming his identity and warrant.

Martinez, a Mexican citizen, had an active outstanding felony warrant for a sexual offense with a $500,000 bail amount issued by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. Martinez was transported to the San Diego County Jail.

The remaining 11 individuals were apprehended for other criminal offenses such as arson, probation violations, dangerous drugs, and money laundering.

In fiscal year 2006, CBP Officers at San Diego County ports of entry, (which encompasses the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Tecate border stations) arrested over 1,400 fugitives and seized over 127,000 pounds of narcotics.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for 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.