By The San Clemente Times
U.S. Border Patrol agents seized 670 pounds of cocaine, worth $6.7 million, at the Interstate 5 checkpoint south of San Clemente early Friday morning, according to an agency release.
The cocaine was discovered after an immigration inspection led to the arrest of a 54-year-old man, who lied to agents and claimed he was a U.S. citizen.
The man was stopped in a 2011 Hyundai Elantra at around 1:15 a.m. Agents were suspicious of the man and detained him for further investigation. A check on his record showed he was lying, and the man was arrested for making a false claim to U.S. citizenship, according to the release.
Agents searched the man’s vehicle and discovered large cardboard boxes, each containing several wrapped packages of cocaine, 53 in all.
The man, vehicle and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency for prosecution, according to the release.
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