SALTON CITY, Calif. – El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint had three narcotic seizures on Saturday.
The first incident occurred at approximately 12:20 a.m., when Border Patrol agents encountered a man, a 39-year-old Mexican citizen, driving a Toyota Highlander.
U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered 30 packages of narcotics in the gas tank of the vehicle, containing methamphetamine combined with a small amount of heroin.
A Border Patrol canine detection team (K9) alerted to the vehicle. Agents referred the driver aside for further examination.
Agents discovered 30 packages of narcotics in the gas tank of the vehicle. The packages contained methamphetamine combined with a small amount of heroin.
The methamphetamine weighed in at 38.6 pounds, the heroin weighed in at .135 pounds with a combined estimated street value of $349,000.
The second incident occurred at 8 a.m. Agents encountered a man, a 30-year-old United States citizen, driving a blue Mazda Protégé. A K9 alerted to the vehicle, and a subsequent search revealed 19 packages of methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine hidden in the front and rear bumpers of the vehicle.
The 10 bundles of heroin weighed in at 15.73 pounds, the seven bundles of methamphetamine weighed 10.21 pounds, and the 2 bundles of cocaine weighed 5.39 pounds. The narcotics have a combined estimated street value of $420,790.
U.S. Border Patrol agents found 19 packages of methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine hidden in the front and rear bumpers of this vehicle.
The third incident occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. Agents encountered a man, a 51-year-old Mexican citizen with a valid permanent resident card, driving a white Chevrolet Malibu. A K9 alerted to undercarriage of the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed two bundles of black tar heroin concealed in the engine oil pan.
The heroin weighed in at 4.9 pounds, with an estimated street value of $58,800.
Patrol Agent in Charge Scott D. Garrett of the Indio Station said “These seizures and arrests show the great determination and vigilance of Border Patrol agents performing their duties in an outstanding manner. Always serving, always protecting and always on duty, Border Patrol agents will continue to keep drugs and criminals out of our communities.”
Drug Enforcement Administration agents took custody of the three men, narcotics, and vehicles.
Last fiscal year, El Centro Sector seized more than 186.5 pounds of heroin, 148 pounds of cocaine and 445 pounds of methamphetamine.
The El Centro Sector’s Community Awareness Campaign is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness on the indicators of crime and other threats. We encourage public and private sector employees to remain vigilant and play a key role in keeping our country safe. Please report any suspicious activity to the Border Community Threat Hotline at 1-800-901-2003.