Calexico

In the first such seizure of the year at the Calexico port of entry, nearly 195 pounds of cocaine were confiscated and a man was arrested, the Customs Service reported.

Carlos B. Valle, a U.S. citizen who lives in Mexico, was scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate in El Centro on smuggling charges Wednesday. If convicted, the 39-year-old laborer could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years to life in prison and fined up to $4 million.

Customs inspectors said they discovered the cocaine in a car Valle was driving.

An immigration inspector noticed that Valle appeared nervous, and sent him to a secondary inspection, where a dog indicated that contraband was present, said Ruben Carrasco of the Customs Service.

In the search, 80 plastic boxes containing cocaine were confiscated.

It was the first significant drug seizure in the San Diego district for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 1989, Carrasco said.

“It is significant because the information we gather in the investigation will lead to the larger amounts of cocaine,” he said.