SALTON CITY, Calif. – El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint, arrested a woman suspected of smuggling methamphetamine with her child in the vehicle on Wednesday morning.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:32 a.m., after a 21-year-old woman approached the checkpoint with her four-year-old daughter in the rear passenger seat in a gold 2006 Ford Focus.
A Border Patrol detection canine team alerted to the vehicle during a pre-primary inspection. Agents referred the woman to the secondary inspection area for a closer examination.
At secondary inspection, agents investigated further and determined she was a United States Citizen. Upon further inspection, agents discovered five packages concealed in the vehicle’s rear passenger seat. The packages were examined and tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine.
The combined weight of the packages totaled 16.05 pounds with an estimated street value of $51,360.
“This is an example of the lengths criminals are willing to go through in order to blend in,” said Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David S. Kim. “They will put their kids at risk by involving them in narcotics trafficking activities.”
The woman and her daughter, as well as, the vehicle and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.
Since fiscal year 2017, which started Oct. 1, 2016, El Centro Sector seized more than 555.24 pounds of methamphetamine.