Two Men Arrested at Border; $1 Million and Marijuana Seized
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SAN DIEGO — Two men were arrested after border authorities seized more than $1 million in cash and 2,700 pounds of marijuana during stops at checkpoints.
Border Patrol agents found the money, packaged in brick-like packages bound in plastic and hidden in three sports bags inside a 1999 Dodge Stratus, after noticing that the driver appeared nervous during the stop Sunday at the checkpoint in Temecula.
The driver, a 46-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested. His name was not released.
A man driving a tractor-trailer was arrested Friday after U.S. Customs inspectors discovered more than 2,700 pounds of marijuana hidden in the vehicle during a stop at the Tecate checkpoint.
Guided by a narcotics detector dog, inspectors drilled a hole in the roof of the trailer and found a green leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana. They found a total of 631 wrapped packages of marijuana stuffed inside the trailer roof.
Eleazer Talamantes-Espinoza, 29, of Tijuana, was arrested.
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