83-year-old woman arrested trying to cross border with meth

By Debbi Farr Baker
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

11:54 a.m. October 5, 2006

SAN DIEGO – An 83-year-old woman with more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine strapped to her back was arrested as she and two others tried to cross into the United States from Mexico, authorities announced Thursday.

Her companions, a 40-year-old woman who had the same amount of the drug secured to her body, and a 22-year-old man driving the car were also arrested at the border crossing in San Ysidro.

The trio tried to cross the border at 1 p.m. Monday in a Toyota Camry and an agent became suspicious after getting inconsistent information from them, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said.

The car was sent to a secondary inspection area where agents discovered the methamphetamine on the women, authorities said.

Both had five packages taped to their lower backs that totaled 21 pounds and has a street value of almost $500,000, agents said.

The elderly woman is a U.S. citizen from Norwalk and the other two are Mexican citizens.

They were taken to the Metropolitan Correction Center in downtown San Diego where they are awaiting arraignment, agents said. The car was seized.

Border officials say that between October 2005 and August 2006 more than 120,000 pounds of narcotics have been seized at the border.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metr ... hbust.html