Border Patrol finds meth & cocaine stashed in spare tire
Border Patrol agents arrested a man and a woman accused of trying to smuggle narcotics inside a truck’s spare tire at the Highway 86 checkpoint Tuesday night.
The 30-year-old man and 26-year-old woman were stopped at the checkpoint at about 7:15 p.m. in a Chevrolet Silverado. A canine team alerted agents to the car for a secondary inspection, authorities said in a news release.
Agents discovered 12 packages hidden in the truck’s spare tire. Nine of the packages tested positive for cocaine and the other three tested positive for methamphetamine. The narcotics weighed 72.60 pounds; 67.20 pounds of cocaine and 5.40 pounds of methamphetamine.
“Our K-9 agents play a vital role in the safeguarding of our communities by preventing dangerous drugs from reaching our city streets,” said David S. Kim, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent.
The seized cocaine is estimated to be worth $806,400 on the street and the meth is estimated to cost $21,600, according to the Border Patrol.
The man suspected of smuggling is a U.S. citizen and the woman is a Mexican citizen. They were both turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency for further investigation.
In fiscal year 2017, El Centro Sector Border Patrol has seized more than 151.23 pounds of cocaine and 135.40 pounds of methamphetamine, according to the release.
