SALTON CITY, Calif. – El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint arrested a man and a woman suspected of smuggling packages of methamphetamine and fentanyl which were taped to their bodies on Friday afternoon.
around this person's body.
The incident occurred on July 7, at approximately 6 p.m. after a man drove to the checkpoint accompanied by three passengers.
During primary inspection, a Border Patrol canine team alerted to the vehicle. Agents then referred the vehicle to secondary inspection for further examination.
At secondary inspection, the canine team alerted again to the cabin of the vehicle. Agents directed the travelers to exit the vehicle and discovered that two of the passengers, a man and a woman, were outfitted with plastic wrapped packages taped around their torsos. The packages were examined and tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
The combined weight of the methamphetamine packages totaled 10.5 pounds, with an estimated street value of $33,600, while the fentanyl amounted to 0.36 pounds for a street value of $12,240.
The two passengers, were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the narcotics for further investigation.
Since fiscal year 2017, which started Oct. 1, 2016, El Centro Sector seized more than 1010 pounds of methamphetamine, however, this was the first seizure of fentanyl for the El Centro Sector.