Last Thursday night, U.S. Border
Patrol agents in San Diego,
CA arrested two men for attempting
to smuggle 141 pounds of marijuana,
valued at approximately $84,600,
according to a report sent to police
organizations including the National
Association of Chiefs of Police.
According to the report, the
marijuana was attached to a
surfboard the men were towing behind
them as they paddled several hundred
yards off the coast of Imperial
Beach.
At about 11 PM (Pacific),
agents first spotted the two men on
surfboards approximately 200 yards
off-shore paddling north of the
international border in Imperial Beach,
but soon drifted out of the agent’s
view.
Border Patrol agents began
to conduct a search using a water rescue
craft and requested the assistance of a
Customs and Border Protection Air and
Marine helicopter. The helicopter
arrived, and with the assistance of a
high powered searchlight, found the
surfers several hundred yards off-shore.
The helicopter directed
Border Patrol agents to the surfers’
location. Agents confronted the surfers,
a 30-year-old and 27-year-old, who
admitted to the agents that they were
citizens of Mexico illegally in the
United States. The agents towed the
surfers and their third surfboard
ashore.
The third surfboard was
piled high with six bails of marijuana
secured tightly to the surfboard with
black duct tape. The suspected smugglers
and the marijuana were turned over to
the San Diego County Sheriff’s
Department.
Since October 1, 2008,
Border Patrol agents have seized more
than 17,500 pounds of marijuana and more
than 1,000 pounds of cocaine in just
one San Diego Sector.
In a separate incident,
agents seized another large load of
marijuana on Sunday, June 21, when they
performed an immigration inspection of
the driver of a pickup truck. During the
inspection, a Border Patrol canine team
detected the possible presence of
contraband hidden in a horse trailer
being towed by the truck. Agents
searched the trailer and found 15
cellophane-wrapped bundles. The bundles
contained marijuana with a total weight
of 757.4 pounds and an estimated street
value of $605,920.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth
vice-president of the National
Association of Chiefs of Police and
he's a staff writer for the New
Media Alliance (thenma.org). In
addition, he's the new editor for
the House Conservatives Fund's
weblog. Kouri also serves as
political advisor for Emmy and
Golden Globe winning actor Michael
Moriarty.
He's former chief at a New York City
housing project in Washington
Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by
reporters covering the drug war in
the 1980s. In addition, he served as
director of public safety at a New
Jersey university and director of
security for several major
organizations. He's also served on
the National Drug Task Force and
trained police and security officers
throughout the country. Kouri
writes for many police and security
magazines including Chief of Police,
Police Times, The Narc Officer and
others. He's a news writer for
TheConservativeVoice.Com and
PHXnews.com. He's also a columnist
for AmericanDaily.Com,
MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and
he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com.
He's appeared as on-air commentator
for over 100 TV and radio news and
talk shows including Oprah,
McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline
News, MTV, Fox News, etc.