INDIO, Calif. — El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican citizen for transporting illegal narcotics early Monday morning.
The incident occurred at approximately 5 a.m. when Border Patrol agents were observing traffic in fully marked Border Patrol vehicles on Interstate 10 near Dillon Road in support of Operation Apollo. A beige sedan passed their location and the agents followed and initiated a vehicle stop using their vehicle lights and sirens. The vehicle pulled over to the side of the road with no incident.
A U.S. Border Patrol K-9 Unit trained to detect concealed persons and narcotics, was on the scene and requested consent to search the vehicle. The driver did not consent, and the K-9 unit performed an exterior sniff of the vehicle. The K-9 alerted to the interior of the vehicle and a subsequent search resulted in the discovery of five duffel bags with multiple packages wrapped in cellophane, characteristic of the wrapping used to transport narcotics. A sample was taken from the wrapped packages and was positive for the presence of methamphetamine.
The total weight of the methamphetamine was 154 pounds with an estimated street value of $278,000.
The driver, a Mexican citizen with a border crossing card, was arrested and his entry benefits were revoked. The narcotics along with the vehicle were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Operation Apollo is a joint regional operation comprised of federal, state, and local agencies working to combat the threat from fentanyl, and other illicit synthetic narcotics. More information about Operation Apollo can be found here.
Please visit www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. For all El Centro Sector news, follow them on 
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