A California National Guardsman deployed as part of President Trump’s April executive order found 11 bundles of methamphetamine hidden inside a vehicle previously thought to be cleared by Border Patrol agents, San Diego Sector officials announced in a statement.
Last week, border agents on Interstate 15 found 51 bundles — roughly 55 pounds — of meth inside the vehicle of an unnamed 31-year-old woman during a routine inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday.
The driver was arrested on drug smuggling charges and turned over to Riverside County, Calif., law enforcement.
The SUV was impounded and taken to a CBP facility for a standard secondary search to make sure agents had not missed anything in their initial sweep.
“As a part of the secondary search, and with the aid of a recently assigned National Guardsman, Border Patrol agents conducted a thorough visual and physical inspection. During the search of the vehicle, a National Guardsman located 11 additional bundles of suspected contraband that was deeply concealed within the door panels of the vehicle,” CBP said. “Border Patrol agents took custody of the bundles, it was field tested and was positively validated as methamphetamine.”
A total of 68 pounds of drugs were found in the car, worth $206,000 on the streets.
The federal government and California Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration reached a deal in late April on the tasks National Guard troops will carry out while deployed to the border.
Between 200 and 300 troops reported for duty, completed training, and were deployed to the El Centro and San Diego Sectors to help with various tasks that do not include immigration-related things.
“Although the California National Guardsmen have been on duty for only a couple of weeks, they have quickly fit in and are a great asset in assisting the Border Patrol to protect our communities,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney S. Scott said in a statement released Wednesday.
President Trump called for the Guard’s deployment in early April after Southwest border apprehension numbers spiked in March to more than 50,000 illegal immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security has made multiple asks of the Defense Department for personnel, resources, and funding for the deployments. Republican governors from Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico complied within a week and began making arrangements for the mission.
Brown, a Democrat who said he will not allow troops to engage in immigration-related tasks, spent the following weeks in talks with the DHS about the exact roles the California Guard would take on if deployed.
The Brown administration reiterated its troops “will not engage in any direct law enforcement role nor enforce immigration laws, or participate in the construction of any new border barrier.”
California has approved up to 400 total National Guard troops and has agreed to the current arrangement through at least Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2018.
CBP Deputy Commissioner Ronald Vitiello has said the deployments will continue until the border is under “operational control.”
