TEMECULA, Calif.—A Los Angeles man was arrested Wednesday morning by Border Patrol agents on Interstate 15 after they discovered cocaine and heroin hidden inside his car’s convertible top.
At approximately 11 a.m., Border Patrol agents patrolling northbound I-15 initiated a vehicle stop on a 27-year-old U.S. citizen near State Highway 395.
After a Border Patrol K-9 team was summoned to the scene and alerted to the man’s 2004 convertible Volvo, agents conducted a search and detected several packages stuffed inside the folded convertible top.
The man claimed he could not raise the convertible top for further investigation. Agents then transported the vehicle to the Newton-Azrak Border Patrol Station in Murrieta, where they removed twelve cellophane-wrapped bundles from the convertible compartment. Eight packages were filled with cocaine and four were filled with heroin.
Twelve cellophane-wrapped bundles of narcotics found inside the convertible compartment of a 2004 Volvo.
The cocaine bundles weighed 21.50 pounds and have an estimated street value of $279,500. The heroin bundles weighed 10.80 pounds and have an estimated street value of $129,600.
The man was arrested for drug smuggling. The narcotics and the man were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration and the vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.
To prevent the illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance on corridors of egress away from our Nation’s borders. To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact San Diego Sector at (619) 498-9900.