A man driving a fake delivery van near the Mexico border last week was arrested by authorities after they discovered nine illegal immigrants hiding in the back, officials in San Diego County said Dec. 26.

Agents from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Campo Station spotted the white van with delivery service logos driving toward Tierra Del Sol Road near Highway 94 on Dec. 17 and were suspicious because the van’s logos and window coverings were inconsistent with those of genuine delivery vans, officials said in a statement.

The CBP has not replied to a request for comment.

Authorities pulled the van over and upon approaching the vehicle, noticed nine people lying on the floor and seats in the rear. None could present proper documentation to be legally inside the United States.

Agents arrested the driver and nine passengers and took them to a nearby Border Patrol station. The driver, a U.S. citizen, is being held pending federal prosecution and the van was seized.

“This is a stark reminder of the great lengths smuggling organizations will take to conduct their illicit activity,” said San Diego Sector’s Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. “San Diego Sector Border Patrol continues to remain vigilant in detecting and dismantling criminal activity in the San Diego area.”

Pursuit and Crash Leads to Fentanyl Discovery

On Dec. 5, CBP encountered a sedan at the Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 8 southeast of Pine Valley, about 30 minutes east of downtown San Diego.

Agents directed the driver to a secondary inspection, but the driver fled west on Interstate 8.

Agents engaged in a short pursuit before the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed near East Willows Road on I-8. No other vehicles were involved. The driver and a passenger fled but were arrested by Border Patrol agents. The two men were treated for injuries suffered in the crash.

Border Patrol agents found eight plastic-wrapped packages in the vehicle. The contents of the packages, which totaled 4.73 pounds, tested positive for fentanyl.

The suspects were taken to a hospital for treatment. The case was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Border Patrol seized the vehicle. The driver and the passenger face federal prosecution.

“Just another example of how dangerous it is to run from law enforcement,” said McGurk-Daniel. “Not only did these suspected drug smugglers put their own welfare at risk, but also endangered other motorists on the roadway.”

San Clemente Cocaine Seizure

On Nov. 27, Border Patrol agents at the San Clemente Station, about 88 miles northwest of the Pine Valley checkpoint, made a large drug seizure on Interstate 5. Agents stopped a compact sedan along I-5 near the Las Pulgas exit in the vicinity of Camp Pendleton North.

A Border Patrol K-9 unit at the scene alerted agents to possible drugs in the vehicle. Agents found plastic-wrapped packages in a box in the trunk. The suspected narcotics, vehicle, and the male driver, a Mexican citizen, were taken to a nearby Border Patrol station for investigation, according to the CBP.

At the station, agents found 25 cellophane-wrapped bundles—weighing a total of 68.45 pounds—that tested positive for cocaine. The driver and the cocaine were turned over to the DEA for federal prosecution, and the vehicle was seized by the Border Patrol.

Otay Mesa Fentanyl Arrest 

In the early morning hours of Nov. 24, CBP officers at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, about 20 miles southeast of downtown San Diego, encountered a 31-year-old man driving an SUV who was applying for admission into the United States from Mexico.

A CBP K-9 team alerted officers to the possible presence of drugs in the SUV and sent the driver to a secondary inspection, where agents uncovered over 215 pounds of fentanyl pills in 30 packages hidden in the SUV’s rear quarter panels, spare tire, and doors.

“Fentanyl is a highly lethal drug that continues to plague our southern border,” said Rosa Hernandez, director for the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, which lies 10 miles east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego County. “I’m incredibly proud of our officers who courageously confront this threat and seize these lethal drugs on a daily basis.”