Border Patrol seizes $500K in drugs
Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint, arrested three woman suspected of drug smuggling in three separate events over the weekend.
The first incident occurred on Friday night when a 2008 Saturn Outlook driven by a 37-year-old woman approached the checkpoint on Highway 86.
Agents conducted a secondary inspection, and found 92 packages of narcotics hidden in the roof of the Outlook.
90 packages tested positive for methamphetamine, and two packages tested positive for cocaine. The methamphetamine had a combined weight of 102.23 lbs. and the cocaine had a total weight of 5.3 lbs. The total estimated street value was $319,175.
The woman, the vehicle and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.
On Sunday around 3 p.m., a 35-year-old woman approached the checkpoint at Highway 86 in a 2006 Ford Focus.
A secondary inspection was conducted and agents found 30-cylinder type bundles underneath the trunk of the vehicle that turned out to be methamphetamine.
The methamphetamine had a total weight of 32.36 pounds with an estimated street value of $80,912.
On Sunday evening, agents arrested a 50-year-old woman who was driving a 2010 Toyota Camry.
During a primary inspection, a K-9 team alerted to the gas tank of the vehicle. After inspecting the gas tank with a fiber optic scope agents observed multiple objects inside the gas tank. Agents retrieved 28 packages of methamphetamine. The total weight of the combined packages was 42.22 lbs. for an estimated street value of $105,550.
The woman, a United States citizen, the vehicle, and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.
In fiscal year 2017, El Centro Sector has seized more than 1,345.65 pounds of methamphetamine and 482.30 pounds of cocaine
