US Border Patrol agents stationed at the San Clemente checkpoint discovered 23 pounds of drugs with a value of $160,000 on Wednesday.
Early Wednesday morning, two men in a Chrysler sedan were referred to secondary inspection. After interrogation from Border Patrol agents, the 18-year-old passenger admitted he had a prescription bottle of medical marijuana.
After getting permission to search the car, Border Patrol agents discovered three sealed boxes in the trunk containing lollipops, hard candy and cookies laced with marijuana's active chemical. Additionally, 15 marijuana e-cigarette cartridges, three marijuana cigars and nearly 13 pounds of additional marijuana were found inside the vehicle. Both men were arrested.
Later Wednesday afternoon, a canine unit conducted a sniff search of a 24-year-old man's car was scanned with a imaging-detection system by California National Guard members to detect anomalies in the back seats of the car. After searching the car, Border Patrol found a custom-built, secret compartment containing eight bundles. The driver was arrested after it was determined that two of those bundles contained cocaine and the other six contained methamphetamine.
All three men caught Wednesday were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration and face drug-smuggling charges.
