C.B.P. News Release

El Centro Border Patrol Nabs Drug Smugglers

(Friday, February 03, 2012)
Imperial County, CA. – Earlier this week, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the El Centro Sector arrested a 56 and 54-year-old male attempting to smuggle marijuana through the Highway 111 and Highway 86 Checkpoints.

The first incident occurred after Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio station conducted a search of a tractor-trailer at the Highway 111 Checkpoint near Niland, Calif. During the search, agents discovered two sealed containers containing packages of marijuana. The marijuana weighed approximately 155 pounds and was given an estimated street value of $123,000.

The driver was arrested and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the tractor-trailer and marijuana.

155 pounds of marijuana seized by U.S. Border Patrol

That same day, Border Patrol agents at the Highway 86 Checkpoint near Westmorland, Calif. discovered 17 brick-like bundles of marijuana in an a hidden compartment inside a Isuzu SUV. The marijuana weighed approximately 33 pounds and was given an estimated value of $26,560.

The driver was arrested and turned over to the Imperial County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Task Force.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Department of Homeland Security

El Centro Border Patrol Nabs Drug Smugglers - CBP.gov