Border Patrol Agents Thwart Deadly Narcotics Smuggling Attempt Through Checkpoint
Photo: Border patrol K-9
Originally published as a US Customs and Border Protection press release –
SALTON CITY, Calif. – El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a man attempting to smuggle fentanyl and methamphetamine through an immigration checkpoint Tuesday night.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:30p.m., when a blue 2011 Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck approached the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint. A Border Patrol K-9 detection team alerted to the semi-truck in the primary inspection lane. Agents directed the truck to enter the secondary inspection area for further investigation.
During their inspection, agents discovered 83 packages of suspected narcotics hidden inside garbage bags in the sleeping area of the cab. The contents inside three of those packages tested positive for the characteristics of fentanyl. The remaining 80 packages tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine. Agents arrested the driver and held him for further processing.
The total weight of the fentanyl was approximately 6.72 pounds with an estimated value of $97,600.
The total weight of the methamphetamine was approximately 99.3 pounds with an estimated value of $273,075.
El Centro Sector turned over the driver, a 37-year-old man, a citizen of Mexico in possession of a nonimmigrant visa from Mexico, the vehicle, and the narcotics to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
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