El Centro Boder Patrol find $145K worth of narcotics in tramission
Border Patrol Discovers Narcotics in Car’s Transmission Case
El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents from the Indio Station assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint arrested a man suspected of smuggling drugs inside the transmission case of his vehicle on Monday.
The arrest occurred at approximately 9:45 a.m., after a 30-year-old man approached the Border Patrol checkpoint in a 1984 gray Jeep Wrangler. As the vehicle approached the primary inspection booth, a Border Patrol K9 team alerted to the vehicle. The primary agent referred the vehicle for a secondary inspection. During the secondary inspection, the K9 again alerted to the undercarriage of the Jeep. A thorough search of the vehicle revealed anomalies in the Jeep’s transmission case. Inside the Transmission case, Agents discovered five plastic wrapped bundles. Two bundles tested positive for the characteristics of heroine, the other three to the characteristics of cocaine. “The highly trained and professional Agents of the United States Border Patrol were able to stop these narcotics from entering the local illicit drug market,” said David S. Kim, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent. “Their dedication to stopping criminal activities makes our society much safer.” The narcotics had a combined weight of 12.25 pounds with an estimated street value of $145,150. The man, 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 84.03 pounds of methamphetamine.
