San Diego Border Patrol snags $300k in cocaine and meth

Border Patrol agents working at the Pine Valley checkpoint east of San Diego intercepted two smuggling attempts that resulted in the seizure of nearly $300,000 of cocaine and methamphetamine. Yesterday, Border Patrol agents encountered a 25-year-old female United States citizen driving a Ford F-250 pickup. During the cursory inspection, agents became suspicious of the woman’s nervous demeanor and immediately sent her to the secondary inspection area. A Border Patrol K-9 performed an inspection of the vehicle that resulted in a positive alert for drugs in the truck’s rear tires. After a thorough search, agents discovered non-factory compartments within the rear brake drums containing a total of eight bundles of methamphetamine. The narcotics weighed 8.71 pounds and had an estimated street value of $174,200, according to a Border Patrol statement. At a separate incident over the weekend, Border Patrol agents stopped a 31-year-old male U.S. citizen driving a Chevrolet C-1500. Again, agents noticed a nervous driver and passenger and referred both to the secondary inspection area. “A Border Patrol K-9 performed a cursory inspection of the vehicle resulting in an alert,” according to a statement. “Agents subsequently discovered one bundle of cocaine within the engine manifold. The narcotics weighed 10.85 pounds and had an estimated street value of $119, 350.” All three suspected drug smugglers as well as the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for further investigation. Border Patrol seized both vehicles. Border Patrol agents encourage anyone to report suspicious activities in an effort to prevent the illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband by calling San Diego Sector Border Patrol at (619) 498-9900. For more stories: http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-national/kimberly-dvorak © Copyright 2012 Kimberly Dvorak All Rights Reserved.