Three packages of meth seized

A 37-year-old man was arrested Sunday after allegedly attempting to smuggle three packages of methamphetamine through the west port of entry.

Jose D. Pedroza, city of residence undisclosed, was taken into custody at 7:50 a.m. Sunday at the port of entry by Homeland Security Investigations agents and booked into county jail on suspicion of unlawful importation of a controlled substance, county Sheriff’s Office arrest records stated. Pedroza was held on no bond. According to a federal court complaint, Pedroza and a male passenger applied for entry into the United States through the west port of entry vehicle lanes at about 6:15 a.m. Sunday.

The vehicle was sent to secondary inspection after a CBP officer queried Pedroza and the passenger and received a positive alert on Pedroza.

During secondary inspection, Pedroza reportedly stated “he was going home in Brawley and that he had nothing to declare.”

A human narcotics and detection dog was requested to screen the vehicle, and positively alerted to the vehicle’s center console.

Further inspection resulted in one AK-47 round, three AK-47 casings, 15 .22 long rife rounds and one .410 gauge shell being found.

Pedroza and his passenger were patted-down, and a CBP officer positively alerted to Pedroza’s groin area.

Three packages, including one from Pedroza’s front left pocket, right front pocket and groin area, were removed.

The packages totaled for an approximate weight of 1.06 pounds and field tested positive for meth. Pedroza was then placed under arrest.

The pat-down for Pedroza’s passenger was negative, and the passenger did not appear in Sunday’s arrest records.