Border Patrol arrests woman accused of smuggling 51 lbs. of meth in Indio

El Centro Border Patrol agents arrested a 28-year-old woman for smuggling approximately 51 lbs. of meth.

The total value of the drugs seized was estimated at $83,312, according to the Border Patrol.

Indio Station agents stopped a vehicle headed westbound on Interstate 10 in Indio on July 25 at approximately 11:45 p.m.

Inside the vehicle was a woman, a U.S. citizen, and her child. The Border Patrol K-9 team was alerted to the vehicle.

The search uncovered 50 wrapped bundles in multiple parts of the vehicle. The driver, the child, and all of the drugs were transferred to the Indio Border Patrol Station for further investigation.

"A child and 50 pounds of methamphetamine — a sure sign of smuggler depravity," said El Centro Sector Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino. "Similar to smugglers who left a mother to die in the desert with her young daughter last week, this week’s drug smuggling caper highlights the detestable tactics smugglers use to ply their trade."

The child is now in their grandfather's care, while the mother is still with law enforcement.

The seizure is a result of Operation Apollo, a holistic counter-fentanyl effort that began in Oct. 2023 in Southern California before expanding to Arizona in April 2024.

Operation Apollo partners with federal, state, local and territorial partners to target the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States.