May 14, 2005 San Diego, California 
CBP and U.S. Coast Guard seize more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in a powerboat after a chase

Team of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement officers found nearly 1,100 pounds of marijuana hidden inside a 21-foot powerboat following a brief chase in San Diego coastal waters, officials announced yesterday.

The officers, on coastal patrol in a marked CBP marine interceptor, apprehended the U.S.-registered Searay at approximately 11:30 a.m., after observing the vessel and its two occupants entering the U.S. from mexico approximately eight miles off shore.

After intercepting the vessel and demanding the occupants stop for a boarding, the CBP boat chased the powerboat for a quarter-mile until it eventually stopped. The Coast Guard law enforcement officers boarded the vessel, took custody of the two men and discovered 73 wrapped packages of marijuana hidden in the boats cabin and under the stern seats. The CBP marine enforcement officers then arrested the two occupants.

The occupants, 20-year-old Jose Manuel Espejo, a U.S. citizen from Pomona, Calif., and 33-year-old Roberto Eusebio-Villa of Tijuana, Mexico, later were turned over to special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to face narcotics charges. The vessel and narcotics were seized by CBP.

Photos: Powerboat and the bundles of marijuana that were hidden inside the boat
Source: U.S. Coast Guard and C.B.P.