April 29, 2013
SALTON CITY — U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped a suspected drug smuggler and seized about 10 pounds of methamphetamine from a woman who was driving with her teenage son at the Highway 86 checkpoint Sunday night.
Around 8 p.m., a 43-year-female driver and her 16-year-old son approached the checkpoint between Westmorland and Salton City, according to a press release.
A canine detection team alerted to the 1998 Toyota Camry as it approached the primary inspection lane, and the vehicle was referred to secondary where agents found 10 packages of methamphetamine hidden in a non-factory compartment under the back seat.
The methamphetamine had a total weight of 10.4 pounds and an estimated street value of more than $332,000. The driver, a Mexican citizen with a visa, was taken into custody without incident and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the car and drugs.
Mexican Drug Cartels, Violence and Drug Trafficking across the US-Mexico Border 