CALEXICO, Calif.— U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Calexico downtown port of entry yesterday intercepted approximately $88,200 worth of methamphetamine concealed inside the gas tank of a vehicle.
The incident occurred at about 11:00 a.m. on June 8, when a canine team screening vehicles alerted to a 2006 GMC Yukon as the female driver waited in line for inspection. Both driver and vehicle were referred to the vehicle secondary inspection area for further examination.
within a vehicle's gas tank
During the intensive inspection, officers detected anomalies in the gas tank of the vehicle. Further search lead officers to the discovery of 60 wrapped packages of methamphetamine concealed inside the gas tank. The weight of the narcotics was 63 pounds.
The driver, a 27- year-old female U.S. citizen and resident of Exeter, California, was arrested for the alleged smuggling attempt and turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations agents for further processing.
"The interception of large amounts of narcotics like this energizes our officers,” said David Salazar, Area Port Director of the Calexico Ports of Entry. “It is exciting to see the men and women of CBP pursue this mission every day with passion as they safeguard our borders against those who want to do harm.”
CBP seized the vehicle and the narcotics.