Smugglers busted loading drugs into fake IID truck

El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station arrested two men suspected of drug smuggling after agents observed the men loading bundles into a fake Imperial Irrigation District work truck on Thursday.

A Remote Video Surveillance operator saw two men illegally enter the U.S. at about 11:30 p.m. near the Drop 5 hydroelectric plant on the All-American Canal, agents said in the release.

The men loaded large bundles into a waiting pick-up truck being driven by a 25-year-old Mexican national. Border Patrol agents responded to the area. One of the men, a 32-year-old Mexican national entered the truck’s passenger side while the other man fled into Mexico, according to authorities.

Authorities said the driver of the truck drove away and failed to yield to Border Patrol agents as they attempted to stop the truck. Soon after, both men abandoned the truck and attempted to flee into Mexico but were caught by Border Patrol agents.

After the arrest, agents discovered several large bundles that contained a total of 38 smaller packages of marijuana. The drugs had a combined weight of 674.39 pounds and were valued at more than $404,000.

The men were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency, which is now handling the investigation.