Each year, U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego see their share of drug busts at border checkpoints – some more bizarre than others. From a teen hiding heroin in his spandex to marijuana stashed among Hibiscus tea leaves, here are some of the craziest border busts of 2015.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Photos of a 16-year-old boy who allegedly tried to smuggle heroin across a Border Patrol checkpoint in Southern California on Dec. 9, 2015. The teen was wearing a spandex body suit , and the drugs were stashed inside the suit, agents said.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection
In this bust, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials seized more than $457,000 in unreported currency hidden in a box of diapers , five-gallon paint cans and trash bags from two U.S. citizens trying to cross the border from the United States into Mexico.
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CBP
Customs and Border Protection officers discovered more than two tons of marijuana hidden in drawers inside a furniture shipment at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry on Oct. 6, 2015.
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U.S. Border Patrol
Hidden in a speaker box in the cargo area, agents say they found 11 packages of crystal meth and one package of black tar heroin. The drugs weighed a combined 31.53 pounds and had an estimated street value of $320,160, according to officials.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection
On Aug. 22, 2015, U.S. Border Patrol agents on Interstate 5 caught a driver in a Chevrolet Silverado trying to allegedly smuggle 38 bundles of methamphetamine across the San Clemente checkpoint. A K-9 alerted agents to the truck around 10 a.m. and a search yielded dozens of bundles of meth stashed inside the truck’s gas tank. The meth weighed more than 75 pounds and had an estimated street value of $752,200.
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Talk about a brazen attempt: U.S. Border Patrol agents say suspected drug smugglers used a ramp to drive over a U.S.-Mexico border barricade on Aug. 7, 2015. At 7:15 a.m., agents spotted a black Infinity QX4 driving north of the border in the El Centro area. When agents approached the SUV, they found 30 bundles of marijuana inside. They soon discovered that the men inside -- both Mexican citizens -- had used a ramp to circumvent border barricades, according to officials. The 44-year-old and 31-year-old men were arrested, and the 693.86 pounds of marijuana, which has a street value of about $416,316, was confiscated. Last fiscal year, El Centro Sector agents seized a total of 5,713 pounds of pot, the agency says.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection
In July 2015, U.S. Border Patrol agents thwarted a suspected smuggler's attempt to get $900,000 worth of marijuana across a checkpoint. The pot was scattered throughout a shipment of Hibiscus tea leaves.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection
On June 5, 2015, at 10 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents at the San Clemente checkpoint discovered more than 43 pounds of crystal methamphetamine stuffed inside the spare tire of a Jeep Commander. The driver failed to stop at the checkpoint on northbound Interstate 5 and agents followed the vehicle until it stopped at a nearby restaurant. The driver tried to flee on foot, but was arrested by agents. When agents searched the Jeep Commanders, they found 18 bundles of crystal meth hidden inside the car’s spare tire. The drugs had an estimated street value of $434,500.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection
In early June 2015, U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered 91 bundles of marijuana – or 1,194 pounds of pot – hidden on a 35-foot yacht sailing into San Diego’s Mission Bay. The packages were wrapped in a brown material, designed to resemble wood paneling, and hidden in various secret compartments throughout the vessel, including under false decks. The pot was worth approximately $715,800. Two U.S. citizens aboard the yacht, a man and woman, were returning from Mexico when the maritime drug bust went down.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection
On April 1, 2015, U.S. Border Patrol agents busted two separate drivers with a combined total of more than $418,000 worth of methamphetamine hidden inside their vehicles at the Interstate 5 checkpoint. In the first bust, agents discovered six wrapped packages of meth weighing more than 12 pounds stashed in the engine compartment of a 2008 Dodge Caliber. In the second bust, agents found 20 packages of meth hidden inside the passenger’s seat and rocker panels of a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser. The drugs weighed nearly 30 pounds.
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U.S. Border Patrol
For more thwarted smuggling attempts of 2015, check out our full Border Busts gallery on NBC7.com.
