Nearly 100 pounds of meth seized by Border Patrol

Nearly 100 pounds of methamphetamine was seized during two separate border checkpoint stops over the weekend in Indio, with the drugs found inside two cars stopped by agents, authorities reported Monday.

About 12:40 p.m. Saturday, Border Patrol canines alerted agents to a 2010 Ford Fusion at the Highway 86 checkpoint. Agents found 39 bundles of meth inside the car’s rocker panels. The bundles weighed a combined 42.9 pounds with an estimated street value of $171,600, Border Patrol officials said.

A 22-year-old woman and her 25-year-old male passenger were arrested. Their names were withheld.

Border Patrol agents made an even larger haul about 3 p.m. the following day when conducting a traffic stop on a 2005 Honda Odyssey on westbound Interstate 10.

After taking the car back to the Indio Border Patrol station, a search yielded 35 bundles of meth hidden beneath the Honda’s floor boards. The bundles weighed a combined 55.68 pounds, with a total street value of $222,720.

The 31-year-old driver and her 25-year-old male passenger were arrested.

All four suspects — none were publicly identified — were turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to Border Patrol officials.