El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents seized more than 22 pounds of methamphetamine at an interior immigration checkpoint near Alamogordo, New Mexico, on Saturday. The meth, found in a Ford Mustang, is valued at more than $700,000.
Agents assigned to the U.S. Highway 54 Immigration Checkpoint on June 20 observed a maroon Ford Mustang approaching for inspection. A Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the possible presence of human or drug cargo during an initial inspection, according to information obtained from El Paso Sector Border Patrol officials.
The agents referred the driver, a U.S. citizen, to a secondary inspection station and conducted a physical search of the car. The agents found several packages wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil in the fender wells of the car, officials stated.
Agents report the contents of the packages tested positive as being methamphetamine. The contraband weighed more than 22 pounds and has an estimated street value in excess of $715,000, officials stated.
“I can’t emphasize enough the vital role that our agents, assisted by canines, play at our checkpoints as the secondary line of defense,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said in a written statement obtained by Breitbart News. “The seizure of dangerous drugs attempting to be transported into the United States is crucial to border security.”
The agents arrested the driver and front-seat passenger — both U.S. citizens. They seized the vehicle and turned the suspected drug smugglers and the contraband over to special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.