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Public Safety

Suspected Drug Traffickers Land On Del Mar Beach In Pot-Filled Fishing Boat

Federal agents nabbed two suspected drug traffickers today as the pair landed on a Del Mar beach in an open fishing boat laden with nearly 400 pounds of pot.

U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted the panga motoring north off the coast of La Jolla with two men aboard and no lights about 3 a.m., Michael Jimenez of the Border Patrol said.

The agents monitored the boat's progress into the Del Mar area, where it came ashore just south of Dog Beach shortly before 4 a.m., Jimenez said.

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When the suspect saw Border Patrol agents approaching them, they tried to restart the outboard motor but were unable to do so, he said.

Aboard the boat were 26 plastic-wrapped bundles of pot weighing a combined 399 pounds, Jimenez said.

Two Mexicans, 28 and 41, were arrested, but their names were not made public. They were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with the pot and boat.

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