SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection marine interdiction agents stopped a 35-foot yacht early Friday morning with almost 1,200 pounds of marijuana hidden in secret compartments throughout the boat.
“We have a large and active boating community in San Diego,” said Jeremy Thompson, Director of Marine Operations for CBP Office of Air and Marine in San Diego. “It takes highly skilled law enforcement officers to differentiate between legitimate boating traffic and those with illicit intentions. The agents demonstrated those skills in identifying and disrupting this covert smuggling attempt along our coastline.”
At approximately 2 a.m., agents conducting a routine patrol encountered the boat outside of Mission Bay in San Diego, as it was returning from Mexico. There were two people on board, a 33-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man, both U.S. citizens.
Agents transported the yacht to a nearby marina for a more in-depth inspection, and requested assistance from U.S. Border Patrol agents to search the vessel with a canine; the dog alerted.
Marine interdiction agents searched the boat and found 91 packages hidden throughout the vessel in various hidden compartments, including under false decks and behind false faces, as well as other hidden spaces. In total, the packages contained 1,194 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated street value of about $715,800.
Marine interdiction agents took the two people into custody, and turned them over to agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations who are assigned to the Marine Task Force in San Diego. Marine interdiction agents also seized the narcotics and the yacht.
