Innocent Drivers Targeted by Traffickers: Customs Car Seizure While Crossing the Border

Every day, thousands of people legally cross the U.S.-Mexico border for work, family, school, or medical care by car or pedestrian crossing. According to the Smart Border Coalition, there were 53,500,000 total crossings at San Diego County Ports of Entry during FY 2024, which translates to approximately 150,000 people crossing the Tijuana border every day.

Many people drive their cars and repeat the same routes back and forth daily, such as through the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry. Drug traffickers have made these innocent people targets by using their cars, without the owners’ knowledge, to smuggle drugs and people into the United States.

Customs drug dogs alert to these cars, and CBP, or Customs, seizes the vehicles for importing drugs or people, even when the drivers are unaware of what has been planted in their cars while they were not looking.

If you are facing a CBP vehicle seizure as an innocent target of drug or human traffickers, contact San Diego Defenders – Forfeiture Law Firm for a free, confidential consultation at (619) 258-8888. Payment plans are available. Se habla Español. 

• How Do Traffickers Set Up People Crossing the Border?
• How Does This Lead to a Customs Car Seizure?
• Successful Case Result: Innocent Border Commuter Gets Her Car Back

How Do Traffickers Set Up People Crossing the Border?

Cartels or criminal organizations plant drugs in unsuspecting vehicles, usually in hidden compartments, trunks, or inside the bumper, and place a GPS tracker inside to monitor where it goes.

Once the vehicle crosses into the United States, someone on that side of the border will retrieve the drugs or people, often without the driver ever being aware of what has happened.

How Does This Lead to a Customs Car Seizure?

We often get the question: “Border Patrol let me go after finding drugs I didn’t know were in my trunk. I wasn’t charged, so why did they still take my car?”

In these circumstances, CBP typically decides not to press charges once it becomes clear that there is no evidence to suggest the driver had any knowledge or intent to commit a crime.

However, under civil asset forfeiture laws (18 USC § 981), the Government can still take the vehicle solely based on the mere presence of illegal contraband, regardless of the owner’s innocence, resulting in a Customs car seizure.

Successful Case Result: Innocent Border Commuter Gets Her Car Back

Recently, San Diego Defenders – Forfeiture Law Firm successfully represented a young woman who lives in Tijuana and crosses daily into the U.S. for work. CBP Via de la Amistad seized her 2015 Toyota Corolla at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, and our firm successfully got the vehicle back for her.

Our client regularly parked her car on the street, which made her an easy target. Smugglers had drilled holes into the underside of her trunk to get into the vehicle without a key.

CBP officers showed her a video of the modified area during the seizure, and notified her of a GPS tracker attached to the car.

Despite there being no evidence that she was aware of the modifications or illegal activity, her car was seized under 19 USC § 1595, 21 USC § 881, and 21 USC § 952. Her Notice of Seizure and Information to Claimants Non-CAFRA Form, which she received, cited a Zero Tolerance Facilitating Importation of Controlled Substance violation.

Our team at San Diego Defenders – Forfeiture Law Firm acted quickly by filing a formal claim, NOT a petition, to ensure due process. Read more on why we recommend filing claims over petitions in our blog here.

Claims in Non-CAFRA cases need to be filed 20 days after the date printed on the Notice of Seizure letter, so it is important to take action fast.

The claim option in the Election of Proceedings Form requires CBP to respond within 90 days, allowing our attorneys to talk directly with the Government’s lawyers. After submitting a cost bond check and claim, we successfully got our client’s 2015 Toyota Camry back without her ever facing criminal charges.

Don’t Wait – Call Us Today at (619) 258-8888!

If your car has been seized by Customs at the border, even if you’ve done nothing wrong, it’s crucial to act fast and contact a skilled forfeiture attorney. At San Diego Defenders – Forfeiture Law Firm, Attorney Dan Smith has over 35 years of experience in federal defense. We handle the entire process for you, from the initial claim to negotiating the return of your property.

Call us today at (619) 258-8888 for a free consultation. Don’t wait, and don’t try to fight this alone. Let our experience work for you.

We handle CBP vehicle seizure cases nationwide, in all 50 states. Se habla Español.