Border Patrol: Man arrested for attempting to smuggle meth in Volvo’s spare tire

A man was arrested Tuesday afternoon by El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents for allegedly attempting to smuggle methamphetamine in his car's spare tire through the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint near Salton City.

At 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, a 35-year-old man, a Lawfully-Admitted Permanent Resident, approached the immigration checkpoint driving a silver Volvo 50. After initial inspect, a Border Patrol K-9 unit alerted to the vehicle, and it was waived along for further inspection.

During the secondary investigation, agents located several packages of a substance consistent with the characteristics of methamphetamine stowed in the vehicle spare tire, according to Border Patrol.

The narcotics weighed out to 21.84 pounds and had an estimated street value of $41,500.

The suspect, vehicle, and narcotics were transferred to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) custody.