2 moms traveling with kids accused of smuggling meth

by Allison Hurtado - Jan. 29, 2010 05:18 PM
The Arizona Republic .

Two women traveling with their children were arrested and accused of trying to transport methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested the two women Thursday night at a checkpoint near Dateland, a community along Interstate 8 west of Yuma. The pair had three children in the car, authorities said.

A canine alerted authorities to the 2007 Dodge Charger sedan. Officers inspected the sedan further and found 22 bundles of methamphetamine stored in a hidden compartment between the driver's seat and the center console, according to Border Patrol Agent Shaun Kuzia.

The meth weighed 18 pounds and has an estimated street value at just under $600,000, authorities said.

The women had valid immigration documentation, which will be taken away because of the arrest, Kuzia said.

Kuzia said the case is similar to an arrest Saturday of two women who were traveling with children when they were pulled over at the I-8 checkpoint and found to have 47 pounds of meth inside the vehicle's gas tank.

In both cases, the women were taken into custody and their children turned over to relatives. The Border Patrol has garnered more meth in the two arrests than all of 2009. The Drug Enforcement Administration has taken over the case.

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