Trucker Gets 9 Years for ‘Record-Breaking’ Drug Smuggling Attempt in San Diego

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection canine team checks automobiles for contraband in the line to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro, Calif., on Oct. 2, 2019. Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

SAN DIEGO—A trucker who was arrested last year after authorities say he was caught with record-breaking amounts of meth and fentanyl inside his truck while trying to cross into the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry was sentenced Oct. 14 to nine years in prison.

Carlos Martin-Quintana-Arias, a Mexican resident whose age was not disclosed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was arrested on Nov. 18, 2021, after 17,584 pounds of meth and 388.93 pounds of fentanyl were seized from the trailer of his truck.