YUMA, Ariz. – Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents working at the Interstate 8 Immigration Checkpoint seized methamphetamine and fentanyl worth approximately $319,000 combined in an attempted drug smuggling event Friday afternoon.
A U.S. Border Patrol canine assigned to checkpoint duties alerted to an odor it was trained to detect emitting from a truck with a single occupant in the primary inspection lane.
Wellton Station agents conducted a secondary inspection of the vehicle where they found more than 164 pounds of methamphetamine and approximately three pounds of fentanyl. The narcotics were concealed throughout the vehicle in the spare tire, gas tank, and both front fenders. The methamphetamine had an estimated street value of almost $280,000 and the fentanyl worth approximately $39,000.
The driver, a 60-year-old female United States citizen from Yuma, was arrested on drug smuggling charges. The narcotics and the vehicle were seized.