Border agents arrest woman in heroin smuggling case

EAST COUNTY — U.S. Border Patrol agents on Friday detained a woman attempting to smuggle 11 pounds of heroin at the checkpoint on state Route 94 near Jamul.

The 39-year-old woman approached the checkpoint about 10:35 a.m. in a red Dodge Durango SUV, Border Partol agent Scott Simon said. During inspection, agents became suspicious of the woman’s nervous demeanor and conducted a secondary inspection, Simon said.

A Border Patrol K-9 team performed a cursory inspection of the vehicle and discovered a nonfactory compartment inside the vehicle’s intake manifold, Simon said. Inside the compartment, agents discovered four foil-wrapped bundles of black tar heroin worth an estimated $133,200, he said.

The suspected smuggler is a U.S. citizen. She was taken into custody, and the drugs and vehicle were seized, Simon said.

gustavo.solis@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1546

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