Border Agents - Meth in Spare Tyre
Last updated 1/30/2017 at 12:21pm
Border Patrol agents from the Indio Station working at the Highway 86 checkpoint arrested two people suspected of smuggling meth inside an SUV's spare tire early Thursday morning.
The incident occurred at approximately 1:45 a.m., when the driver, a 47-year-old woman and a 22-year-old male passenger, approached the Border Patrol checkpoint in a burgundy 1998 Ford Explorer. During the primary inspection, a Border Patrol detection canine team alerted to the vehicle. Agents referred the vehicle to secondary for further inspection.
Agents conducted a thorough examination of the vehicle and discovered 27 packages hidden in the spare tire. The contents of the packages tested positive for methamphetamine.
"Deterring these harmful drugs from poisoning our neighborhoods is another way Border Patrol agents safeguard our communities," said David S. Kim, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent.
The methamphetamine weighed 57.6 pounds with an estimated street value of $230,400.
The man and woman, whom were both United States citizens, 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 249.18 pounds of methamphetamine.
