Drugs Seized on Otay Mesa

Border patrol agents made three drug seizures, including one of 519 pounds of cocaine being carried into the United States through a hole in the border fence on Otay Mesa, authorities said Thursday.

Early Wednesday, agents searched three men east of the Otay Mesa border crossing. Sewn into the lining of a jacket worn by one man were two plastic bags containing 12 ounces of heroin, Border Patrol officials said. The three were held.

The second incident took place about 10 p.m. Wednesday, as agents detained eight undocumented migrants in a field near Otay Lakes. In the brush were four burlap bags containing 140 pounds of marijuana, officials said. No connection between the undocumented migrants and the marijuana was made. The migrants voluntarily returned to Mexico.

About 1:30 a.m. Thursday, agents came across seven men loading bags into three cars at the Otay Mesa border. Four of the men fled into Mexico; the three others were arrested and held on suspicion of importation of a controlled substance, 519 pounds of cocaine. Border officials did not identify the men.