A pair of Vietnamese nationals was arrested at the border just west of San Diego, California, after illegally crossing the border and being discovered with crystal methamphetamine and an improvised firearm.

The Vietnamese men were found with 3.44 grams of crystal methamphetamine and what border agents called a “zip gun.”

According to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the arrests took place in Campo, California on the morning of February 4. Agents apprehended a 50-year-old driver and his 44-year-old passenger. Both were in the U.S. illegally and each had an extensive criminal record.

“Agents then discovered that the passenger possessed 3.44 grams of crystal methamphetamine, as well as a zip gun inside the vehicle,” the statement says.

The driver remains in DHS custody and faces deportation proceedings. The passenger was turned over to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, along with the narcotics and the improvised firearm.

That same day border patrol agents stopped a male and female on Interstate 15 in Temecula, California. They were arrested after being discovered with “four bundles of brown heroin and five bundles of cocaine stashed inside the lining of two small ice chests.”

“The heroin had a total weight of 6.90 pounds,” the DHS statement reported, “with an estimated street value $93,900. The cocaine weighed 10.03 pounds with an estimated street value $160,480. The suspects were arrested and currently face state charges for transporting narcotics.”

These latest border patrol seizures pale in comparison to the hauls pulled in by the Coast Guard.

According to government figures, the Coast Guard doubled the amount of cocaine it pulled in during 2015. Government reports show that 1,254 metric tons of cocaine has been interdicted by the Coast Guard, up 300 some tons over 2014.

“The known cocaine flow through the Transit Zone via non-commercial means increased in FY 2015 to 1,254 metric tons from 945 metric tons in FY 2014. The Coast Guard removed 144.8 metric tons of cocaine from the Transit Zone in FY 2015 equating to an 11.5% removal rate for non-commercial maritime cocaine flow,” last year’s report said.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com