Border Patrol finds $50K+ of meth in Jeep’s spare tire

A 27-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested over the weekend by Border Patrol agents on suspicion of drug smuggling, according to an El Centro Sector Border Patrol news release.

On Saturday at 11:55 a.m., a 2012 black Jeep Wrangler driven by the 27-year-old man, who has not been identified, approached the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint near Salton City. A Border Patrol canine team alerted to the vehicle during initial inspection, and it was waived along for secondary investigation.

During the secondary inspection, agents discovered 22 packages containing a substance which had the characteristics of methamphetamine in the vehicle’s spare tire, according to Border Patrol.

The packages weighed 24.85 pounds and had an estimated street value of $57,155.

The suspect, the vehicle, and methamphetamine were turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration agents.