An active member of the SENTRI program was taken into custody after border patrol agents discovered a stash of 161 pounds of marijuana inside the sedan he was driving, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported Thursday.

The 20-year-old man attempted to get back into the country by passing through the San Ysidro Port of Entry around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. He was handed over to officials for a second search, the agency reported. 

An X-ray machine revealed oddly shaped objects in the 2003 Nissan Altima. Agents discovered 45 packages of marijuana hidden in the dashboard, bumpers and all four tires. The marijuana was said to have a street value of over $72,000, the agency stated. 

The driver was taken into custody under suspicion of smuggling and the both the car and drugs were taken by officials. 

The SENTRI program prescreens certain certain people trying to cross the border and allows them to use a specific lane that lets them pass through quickly.

U.S. Border Patrol agents confiscated over 51 pounds of cocaine on Friday that was stashed inside an SUV’s gas tank at an Interstate 8 checkpoint, authorities reported Monday.

The confiscation procedure was carried out at 9:30 a.m. Friday after a 26-year-old man driving a Jeep Cherokee Sport pulled over to get searched at the checkpoint. A group of drug-sniffing fogs was used and signaled to authorities that the vehicle possibly contained illegal drugs. Agents looking underneath the car saw that the vehicle’s gas tank had been messed with and changed around, the Border Patrol stated.

After taking out the tank, agents were able to find a compartment specifically designed in the tank to hold drugs. Inside they discovered 20 wrapped bundles of cocaine with a street value of over $516,000, officials reported.

The man, who is a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody and handed over to the Drug Enforcement Administration to be dealt with, officials reported.

Over $1.3 million worth of cocaine was seized and two people were taken into custody in two different drug smuggling cases that occurred at the Interstate 8 checkpoint in Pine Valley.

On Monday around 2:30 p.m., agents did not let a Kia Spectra pass through and looked through the car to discover the bottom of the car had been fixed in order to hold drugs, Border Patrol Agent Mark Endicott said.

Examining the car more closely led officials to find a compartment created purposefully for drugs and held 66 pounds of cocaine in 24 bundles.

A 25-year-old U.S. citizen and resident of El Centro was taken arrested. 

Another seizure took place on Tuesday at 1:30 a.m., Endicott reported.

In that incident, agents blocked a Dodge Durango from passing through and sent the vehicle and the driver to a second search after he seemed suspicious, Endicott stated. 

A drug sniffing dog was used and signaled to agents that there could possibly be drugs hidden in the SUV, agents then used an X-ray to find 25 bundles of cocaine weighing 66 pounds and stashed in the door panels of the car, Endicott reported. 

The 28-year-old man from Mexico driving the car was taken into custody.

Customs and Border Protection officers report taking hold of a large amount of drugs worth a street price of $9 million and taking 32 fugitives at six border crossings into custody throughout last week. 

The confiscations and arrests took place at different ports of entry from San Ysidro to Andrade in the Imperial Valley from the time frame of July 6 to 13, officials reported. 

In a total of 63 different incidents, agents seized a total of 4,320 pounds of marijuana, 470 pounds of cocaine, 90 pounds of methamphetamine and 2 pounds of heroin.

In some of the incidents the drugs were discovered stashed in fake compartments built into the underside of dashboards and under the floorboards of vehicles, and in one particular case the drugs were found stored within a tractor-trailer’s gas tank. 

The fugitives all had felony warrants out for them and were wanted for crimes claiming assault and counterfeit along with drug charges, officials stated.

Two men out on surfboards close to Imperial Beach late Thursday night were held and taken into jail when federal authorities discovered they had another surfboard attached to theirs and were pulling it packed with marijuana. 

Black duct tape was used to cover both the surfboard and hide the six packages of marijuana stashed underneath the board, reported Ralph DeSio, a Border Patrol spokesman.

Agents saw the men around 11 p.m. paddling about 200 yards away from shore, but they started to float out of sight. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter teamed up with agents to try and find the men and used a high-powered searchlight to point them in the right direction.

The men, ages 27 and 30, informed agents that they were Mexican nationals and were illegal immigrants. The agents then dragged the surfboards in to the shore and handed the suspects over to the county Sheriff’s Department.

The marijuana came to a total weight of 141 pounds and was worth $84,600, DeSio stated.