Traffic stop on I-15 results in over 80 pounds of cocaine found in SUV

TEMECULA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Authorities on Tuesday found over a half a million dollars of cocaine in a vehicle after a traffic stop on Interstate 15 in Temecula, border officials said.

Around 10:30 a.m., Newton-Azrak Border Patrol Station agents with the San Diego Sector pulled over a SUV on the freeway and conducted a search of the vehicle with their canine team, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release Friday.

The canine detected “what appeared to be cellophane wrapped packages consistent with narcotics smuggling,” CBP said.

The findings resulted in the occupants being placed under arrest and taken to a nearby station.

When authorities searched the vehicle at the Newton-Azrak Border Patrol Station, they also found a total of 31 bundles of cocaine, weighing 81 pounds, per CBP.

U.S. Border Patrol seized the vehicle, while the driver, passenger and drugs were turned over to the Riverside County Southwest Investigations Bureau for prosecution under state charges.

“I am proud to say that men and women of the United States Border Patrol are out there day and night protecting our communities,” said Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. “With each successful narcotic interdiction, I know for a fact that we’ve saved someone’s life.”

San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents have seen a 300-pound increase of cocaine seized from the previous fiscal year at 2,437 pounds, according to CBP.

To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact the San Diego Sector at 619-498-9900.

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