Border Patrol seizes $300,000 in heroin smuggled in a car in Interstate 5

Border Patrol agents foiled a major narcotics smuggling attempt this week when they stopped a car on Interstate 5 carrying 72 pounds of heroin.

At 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, agents assigned at the San Clemente Border Patrol Station stopped a Chevrolet Cruise and a drug-sniffing dog indicated the presence of narcotics. Officers searched the trunk and found 29 packages of heroin in a cardboard box.

The heroin weighed nearly 72 pounds and has an estimated street value of almost $300,000

Agents turned over the driver and narcotics to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The driver, a Mexican national, will face state narcotics charges.

“This heroin smuggling attempt is another example of the threats our agents face in combating foreign terrorist organizations that push deadly drugs into American communities,” said Orlando E. Romero, patrol agent in charge at the San Clemente station.

“It also demonstrates the strength of our agency when we collaborate with other local, state, and federal agencies,” he said.