Deadly Cocktail Of Drugs Found In Child Booster Seats: San Diego Border Patrol

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man was arrested after he tried to smuggle a deadly cocktail of drugs hidden inside child booster seats, authorities said Monday.

San Diego Sector U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the San Clemente Border Patrol Station stopped a vehicle around 7 p.m. Nov. 19 on northbound Interstate 5 near the Basilone Road exit, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A Border Patrol canine alerted agents to the presence of narcotics inside two booster seats.

Agents found 11 packages of drugs, including seven packages of fentanyl that weighed more than 16 pounds and was valued at about $138,700, according to the CBP. There were also two packages of cocaine that weighed nearly five pounds and was valued around $41,800, as well as two packages of heroin that weighed over a pound and was valued at roughly $11,400.

The driver, identified only as a Mexican national, as well as the drugs, and the vehicle were taken to a
nearby Border Patrol station for further processing. The driver will face charges for the sale and importation of a controlled substance, officials said.

"The discovery of fentanyl, cocaine and heroin hidden within child car seats is a disturbing reminder that these foreign terrorist organizations will go to great lengths to get their products into our country and our communities," said Justin De La Torre, chief patrol agent at the San Diego Sector. "Our agents are confronting ruthless criminal networks every single day, and these seizures show our unwavering commitment to stopping dangerous drugs from reaching American communities."