A 25-year-old woman traveling with two children as passengers is facing drug smuggling charges Wednesday after U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly found more than 38 pounds of bundled cocaine in the vehicle she was driving near San Clemente.
A drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to the presence of cocaine at about 10 a.m. Monday when an agent stopped the 2001 Honda Accord the woman was driving on northbound Interstate 5 near the Cristianitos Road exit, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Three bundles of cocaine were found stashed in the front passenger seat where an 11-year-old boy had been sitting, and eight were found in a rear passenger seat that had been occupied by a 2-year-old girl.
Another three bundles of the drug were found inside the driver’s seat.
A total of 38.25 pounds of cocaine with estimated street value of $459,000 were seized, officials said.
“It is very sad to see innocent children entangled in this shameful attempt to smuggle illicit narcotics,” Patrol Agent in Charge Thomas Blanks said.
Agents arrested the woman and turned her over to a Drug Enforcement Administration task force, while the children were placed in the custody of San Diego County Child Welfare Services.
The Honda was also seized, officials said.
The woman’s name was not released and it was not immediately clear if she was related to the children.
–City News Service