EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A federal grand jury has indicted an alleged San Diego-area meth distributor based on evidence gathered after border officers intentionally allowed a Dodge Dakota loaded with drugs to pass through a U.S. port of entry.
Wednesday’s indictment charges David Osuna with felony conspiracy to distribute methamphetamines in connection to his arrest last month at a residence in San Diego.
The investigation began after a Mexican national driving a red, older model Dodge Dakota with Baja California license plates applied for admission to the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry on Jan. 18. The man told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer he was going shopping at a Walmart in Imperial Beach. The officer received a computer alert on the driver and referred him and the vehicle to a secondary inspection area at the port.
Court documents show border officers detected anomalies in the doors and back wall of the pickup and a canine officer alerted its handler to a suspicious odor. One officer inspected the truck and saw concealed wrapped packages. But rather than arresting the waiting driver, border officers conferred with Homeland Security Investigation agents and the agents in a matter of minutes remotely secured a court order to attach a GPS tracking device to the vehicle.
The driver was allowed to enter the U.S. and tracked by members of the San Diego Narcotics Enforcement Team along Interstate 5. Court records show the man “took a nonsensical route and checked his mirrors in an exaggerated fashion” consistent with someone who believes is being followed.
Law enforcement agents observed the Dakota arrive at a Chula Vista shopping center and the driver walk away from the truck. Another man later identified as David Osuna allegedly approached the vehicle and drove the Dakota from the shopping center to the garage of his home. Court records show agents arrived at the residence and heard vehicle seats being moved, packages being tossed on the ground and plastic bags being opened.
Agents approached Osuna near a second vehicle, a red Ford Ranger, and he allegedly agreed to talk to them without a lawyer present. Court records show Osuna told investigators the Dodge Dakota wasn’t his, that he picked up the vehicle because he’s a mechanic and the Dakota had mechanical issues he would fix.
A criminal complaint alleges Osuna gave the agents verbal consent to search the premises. Agents found nothing in the residence, but drugs allegedly were in a garbage bag in the Ford Ranger and in the back wall of the Dakota.
A total of 177 packages weighing 87.22 kilograms (192 pounds) of methamphetamines were seized and Osuna was arrested. Court records make no further mention of the original driver of the Dakota.
Records show Osuna appeared for arraignment on Feb. 15 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He entered a plea of not guilty and the court called for a trial setting date hearing next March 25 before U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes.
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