MEXICALI: A 34-year-old Mexicali resident was arrested after attempting to smuggle about $37,000 worth of narcotics stuffed into energy bars through the Calexico east port of entry, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection press release.
Manuel Alberto Ortiz-Morales, as identified by county Sheriff’s Office arrest records, was arrested in connection with the smuggling attempt, the press release stated.
Ortiz-Morales, a legal resident of the United States, had intended to cross into the U.S. via the port’s pedestrian lane carrying a cooler, but was referred to secondary inspection after officers noticed the man looked nervous.
After running the cooler through the port’s imaging system, officers noticed anomalies within the 30 energy bars contained within the cooler.
Upon further inspection, the energy bars were discovered to contain one pound of cocaine and almost three pounds of methamphetamine worth an estimated street value of $15,000 and $21,000, respectively, the press release stated.
Ortiz-Morales was turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations agents for further processing and later booked into the Imperial County jail.
