Indio Border Patrol Agents Intercept $350,000 of Drugs

Indio Border Patrol Agents Intercept $350,000 of Drugs

Reported by: Renee Schiavone
Email: ReneeS@kpsplocal2.com
Created: 3:37 pm
Last Update: 3:49 pm

A man was caught trying to smuggle more than a quarter million dollars' worth of narcotics into the U.S. through a local border patrol checkpoint Thursday, officials said.

The man, identified only as a 34-year-old United States citizen, was driving through the Highway 86 Checkpoint near Westmorland at around midnight, when a drug-sniffing dog alerted authorities to his truck, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jonathan Creiglow.

The driver was taken to a secondary checkpoint, where U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio station conducted an intense search, Creiglow said.

"A thorough search of the vehicle resulted in agents discovering approximately 8 pounds of cocaine and 140 pounds of marijuana concealed within an engine compartment," Creiglow said.

[RELATED: Click here to see where the drugs were hidden]

The drugs were valued at more than $350,000.

The driver, truck and drugs were all turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), according to Creiglow.

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