16 kilos of cocaine seized in Tijuana
In another hit by Los PEP, the State Preventative Police force, which has been responsible for dozens of seizures this year, found another 16 kilos, worth roughly 22,000 each. The car was intercepted on Boulevard Diaz Ordaz in Los Pinos, the driver, Edgar 'N" was in a 2006 Kia, with American plates. He allegedly asked to be let go, because "he did not want trouble".
The kilos were wrapped and sealed for import to the United States, wrapped with a green piece of tape, and what looks like dryer sheets on the first layer of the wrap. Likely a tip, or a previous arrest, and 'confession' led to this arrest. Los PEP have been accused of rape, extortion, and kidnapping in Tijuana, in recent weeks.
Drivers to the US are often recruited to cross product, some in ignorance, or intentionally misinformed of what they are carrying. The federal prison in San Diego, MCC, Metropolitan Correctional Center is home to many of them. They face serious federal sentences, and are often compelled to cooperate to reduce their sentences, though many don't, fearing reprisals from their family in Tijuana. Many are first time drivers, looking to supplement their income, not hardened criminals, though many drivers are professionals also.
Typically, drivers carrying loads of cocaine, crystal, or heroin cross are found in the San Ysidro border crossing, according to court records, and criminal complaints. Larger marijuana loads typically are found in the Otay Mesa crossing. This is another aspect of the drug trafficking issues, that effect the communities. Families often lose the sole source of income to US prisons, for multiple years. If they are citizens, or residents, they are deported to Tijuana, where they often end up back in organized crime and drug trafficking. No longer useful to cross loads, they are recruited back as gunmen and sicarios.
Sources: AFN Tijuana