The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers of the San Diego Field Office impounded narcotics worth over $5 million within the first half of April, according to a statement released Thursday.
The officers seized “78 pounds of cocaine, 5 pounds of heroin, 825 pounds of methamphetamine, and 203 pounds of fentanyl in 52 separate drug smuggling attempts from April 1 to April 14,” the statement revealed.
The drugs—which the suspected smugglers attempted to smuggle into the U.S. via some or all of the seven ports of entry that comprise the San Diego Office—collectively could have been sold for an estimated retail street price of $5,320,000, according to the statement.
The CBP officers also seized the vehicles used to smuggle the drugs and handed over the suspected smugglers to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for additional investigation, according to the statement. (RELATED: Authorities Seize Drugs Concealed In Frozen Food At Southern Border)
The CBP reportedly described the officers’ effort in seizing the illicit drugs as “dedication and unwavering”.
“Smugglers are continuously devising intricate plans to avoid detection, yet our CBP officers have a remarkable knack for adjusting, predicting, and ultimately exposing even the most sophisticated strategies,” said Sidney Aki, CBP Director of Field Operation for San Diego, the statement reported.
An Apr. 5 seizure exposing such intricate plans by suspected smugglers involved the officers’ discovery of thousands of fentanyl pills in polythene bags hidden in a set of speakers, a photograph shared in the statement showed.
“I commend our officers for upholding a strong enforcement stance and effectively disrupting the smuggling of harmful narcotics,” Aki added.
The seizures were part of Operation Apollo, a counter-fentanyl joint operation launched Oct. 2023 in southern California, according to the statement.
Earlier in April, the CBP launched Operation Plaza Spike, which targets Mexican cartels funneling fentanyl into the U.S. and stopping the illegal southward flow of weapons from the U.S. to Mexico. The plazas are the cartel territories just south of the U.S.
The seven ports of entry that make up the San Diego Field Office are Andrade, Calexico East, Calexico West, Otay Mesa, San Diego International Airport/Seaport, San Ysidro, and Tecate.