Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Archived Content
    In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated.
  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. Local Media Release
  4. Border Patrol Seizes Meth at Checkpoint

Border Patrol Seizes Meth at Checkpoint

Release Date
Fri, 06/14/2019

NILAND, Calif. – El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents working at the Highway 111 immigration checkpoint arrested a man suspected of smuggling methamphetamine Friday morning.

The incident occurred at approximately 7:23 a.m., when a 55-year-old man driving a gold 1992 Jaguar Sovereign approached the checkpoint.  A Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the vehicle.  Agents sent the vehicle to secondary inspection for further investigation.

While in secondary inspection, Border Patrol agents discovered 24 packages hidden inside of the vehicle’s rocker panels.  Agents determined that the substance in the packages was consistent with the characteristics of methamphetamine.

The total weight of the methamphetamine discovered was 48.3 pounds, with an estimated value of $111,090.

“This seizure demonstrates the vital role our canine teams perform in detecting dangerous drugs thus keeping these off our streets which safeguards our communities,” said El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez.

The man, a Mexican citizen, the vehicle, and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021