In two separate incidents late this week Border Patrol agents discovered illegal drugs including heroin and cocaine hidden inside a vehicle tire and methamphetamine inside a vehicle gas tank.
San Diego agents discovered three quarters of a million dollars worth of heroin and cocaine inside a car spare tire on Thursday. A man in a 2004 Mazda was seen just south of the I-5 Border Patrol checkpoint fiddling with his trunk before continuing on. The man and his passenger were referred to secondary inspection. A K-9 alerted to the vehicle, but agents did not find anything through inspection.
The decision was then made to drive to where the man had been seen opening and closing his trunk. The spare tire from the man’s car was found there containing 30.42 pounds of heroin and 23.48 pounds of cocaine. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection release stated, “This included 10 bundles of brown heroin, two bundles of black tar heroin, and nine bundles of cocaine. The 21 bundles of narcotics have an estimated street value of $781,520.”
The two 22-year-old American citizen men were arrested, the drugs handed over to the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Border Patrol seized the vehicle.
San Diego sector Border Patrol interceptions of cocaine increased 105 per cent in fiscal year 2014 and heroin interceptions increased over 45 per cent.
In a separate incident on Friday, El Centro Sector agents discovered 29.16 pounds of methamphetamine in a vehicle’s gas tank. The drugs carry an estimated street value of $291,600.
“A Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the vehicle. Agents referred the man to secondary for a closer examination. After an intensive search agents discovered 24 cylindrical shaped packages of methamphetamine hidden in the vehicle’s gas tank,” read a U.S. Customs and Border Protection release regarding the incident.
The driver was a Lawfully Admitted Permanent Resident in the States and was arrested for the incident.
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