SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—U.S. Border Patrol agents seized approximately 2,400 pounds of marijuana on Monday afternoon from an abandoned recreational watercraft beached at Calafia State Park, near San Clemente.
On Monday at approximately 3 p.m., agents responded to a report from California State Park rangers that a 25-foot Bayliner was in the process of washing ashore. With assistance from the rangers, agents pulled the vessel ashore for further inspection. Agents did not encounter any people on the boat or the surrounding area.
During the inspection, agents discovered several large bags throughout the boat that contained a total of 82 cellophane-wrapped bundles of marijuana.
The estimated street value of the marijuana was about $1.2 million. The marijuana and the vessel were seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.
The U.S. Border Patrol in collaboration with Federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies coordinates operations through the Regional Coordinating Mechanism (ReCoM) to address transnational maritime threats along the Southern California coast. The ReCoM mission is to increase homeland security by eliminating transnational crime along the coast. The Joint Harbor Operations Center (JHOC) in San Diego is the tactical command center for ReCoM.
