U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico East port of entry seized more than 150 pounds of hard narcotics on Sunday in a hidden compartment under the bed of a pickup truck.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight on May 19, when CBP officers encountered a 29-year-old male Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident of the U.S. after he arrived at a vehicle inspection booth driving a Chevrolet Silverado. During his inspection, an officer detected anomalies within the truck’s undercarriage and referred the driver for a more in-depth examination.
CBP officers conducted an intensive inspection of the Silverado that included the use of a canine unit. After the canine alerted to the truck’s undercarriage, officers searched the area and discovered 130 wrapped packages hidden inside a non-factory compartment built under the bed of the pickup.
Once extracted, 125 of the packages field-tested positive as methamphetamine and five packages tested positive as fentanyl, weighing 138 pounds and 13 pounds, respectively. The narcotics have an estimate combined street value of almost $400,000.
The driver, a resident of Brawley, was arrested for the alleged narcotics smuggling attempt and turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigation agents for further processing. He was later transported to the Imperial Valley Jail where he awaits criminal arraignment.
CBP seized the narcotics and the pickup truck.
CBP officers at the border crossings in Southern California routinely stop illegal activity, while processing millions of legitimate travelers into the United States.
