Yuma Sector thwarts drug smuggling attempt

  Yuma Sector agents arrested drug smugglers posing as off-road enthusiasts Sunday afternoon.

  "It is something they try to do," said Agent Michael Bernacke of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs. "This is the first incident that I'm aware of since the fence has been built."

  According to Bernacke, at about  3 p.m., Border Patrol agents patrolling the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreational Area noticed two people on the Mexican side of the international boundary fence scouting out the immediate area.

  Later, agents saw a Polaris Ranger off-road vehicle, on the U.S. side of the fence, drive to meet up with the two scouts.

  The scouts threw four bundles of marijuana over the fence to the driver of the vehicle, who then placed the bundles into the back of the Polaris Ranger, Bernacke said.

  "In the past, when there wasn't a fence, drug smugglers wold try to blend in with the high volume of people who congregate in the sand dunes," Bernacke said.

  Agents kept constant surveillance of the vehicle, Bernacke said, as it drove north to the Midway Campground and stopped at a motor home parked at the campsite.

  The driver exited the vehicle, entered the motor home briefly, then exited and resumed driving the Polaris Ranger. At this point Border Patrol agents stopped the driver, arrested him and seized the marijuana.

  Border Patrol agents and a detection K-9 searched the motor home for other illicit narcotics but were unable to locate any.

  Agents discovered a male and female occupant with extensive criminal history involving narcotics in the motor home: Jonathan Berry and Jeannine Landreneaux.

  "It was one of those situations where if one of them were involved, they probably all were," Bernacke said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were involved in some way."

  Landreneaux’s records checks also revealed an active warrant for her arrest for narcotics originating from California.

  The driver of the off-road vehicle, Russell Carter, also had extensive criminal history involving narcotics.

  The marijuana weighed 93 pounds with an estimated street value of $74,000 and was turned over to the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO).

  Carter and Landreneaux were taken into custody by ICSO. The ICSO also seized the Polaris Ranger he was driving.

  Bernacke added that the general public is reminded to observe a 100-foot enforcement zone from the international boundary fence in order to avoid hazardous and sometimes violent illegal cross-border activity, and to allow to Border Patrol to conduct operations within the area.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.