Eighteen bags of cocaine and methamphetamine, totaling $437,400, were seized at a vehicle stop on northbound Interstate 5 on Thursday, according to the San Clemente Border Patrol.
When Border Patrol agents tried to stop the suspect at about 6:15 p.m. near the Cristianitos Road exit, the driver refused to pull over and took off. While agents pursued the vehicle, the suspects tossed multiple packages out of their Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Several bundles broke apart on the freeway, bursting with white powder, said Border Patrol agents. As the driver exited the freeway onto the Pacific Coast Highway, they were intercepted by agents.
Border Patrol agents detained two men, age 27 and 21, both inside the vehicle. Multiple lanes of the I-5 were shut down as the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and a local response team worked to remove the potentially hazardous drugs splayed across the freeway.
Thirteen of the bundles held 34.45 pounds of cocaine, and five bundles contained six pounds of crystal methamphetamine, said Border Patrol agents.
All 18 bundles of narcotics recovered from the freeway were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to the San Clemente Border Patrol.
