46 pounds of cocaine & meth found hidden in back seat of minivan
Border Patrol agents apprehended a man Tuesday morning at the Highway 86 checkpoint after they found several pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine hidden in the rear seat of his minivan.
The suspected drug smuggler is a 60-year-old Mexican resident. A K9 team alerted to his minivan as he pulled up to the Border Patrol checkpoint at about 11:40 a.m.
During a secondary inspection, agents said they found an anomaly within the rear seat which turned out to be several packages of cocaine and methamphetamine wrapped in bundles. Fifteen of the plastic-wrapped bundles contained cocaine; three others tested positive for methamphetamine.
“I cannot stress enough the importance of these seizures,” said David S. Kim, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent. “Every pound of illegal narcotics we seize translates into a safer community and a loss of revenue for dangerous drug smuggling organizations.”
According to the Border Patrol’s release, the cocaine bundles weighed a total of 37.39 pounds with an estimated street value of $454,800, and the methamphetamine bundles weighed 9.24 pounds with a street value of $36,960.
The suspect and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency for further investigation.
Authorities said in fiscal year 2017, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have seized more than 188 pounds of cocaine and 180 pounds of methamphetamine.
