SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the Port of San Diego on Saturday discovered 411 pounds of marijuana in a private vessel and arrested the three occupants.
At about 6 p.m. the U.S. Coast Guard spotted a 24-foot vessel in the U.S. near international waters off the coast of San Diego. Coast Guard officials boarded the boat and conducted a safety check of the boat and occupants. Coast Guard officials notified CBP of the suspicious behavior of occupants on-board, and escorted the boat and occupants to the Harbor Police dock at the end of Shelter Island.
There, CBP officers and a canine team were waiting and screened the boat. The detector dog alerted to the lower rear cabin. CBP officers searched the boat and discovered 75 wrapped packages hidden in the floor and walls of the vessel. The packages field-tested positive for the properties of marijuana, with a street value of $247,000.
The three occupants, a 32-year-old male, a 27-year-old male, and a 25-year-old female, all U.S. citizens, were turned over to the custody of special agents with Homeland Security Investigations.
CBP officers seized the boat and marijuana.
