Meth found in spare tire

On Friday morning, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint arrested a man suspected of smuggling methamphetamine inside his vehicle’s spare tire, a Customs and Border Protection news release stated.

The incident occurred at approximately 3 a.m. Friday when a lawful permanent resident approached the checkpoint in a white 2000 Ford Ranger.

During an immigration inspection, a Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the rear end of the truck.

Agents referred the truck to secondary inspection for further investigation.

In secondary, agents discovered 26 packages concealed in the spare tire of the truck.

The packages were examined and tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine.

The combined weight of the packages was 35.64 pounds and had an estimated street value of $94,446.

The 29-year-old man, a Mexican citizen, was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the vehicle and narcotics for further investigation.

The details of the man’s arrest were referred to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to determine if revoking his privileged status is warranted.

In fiscal year 2018, El Centro Sector agents have seized more than 893.35 pounds of methamphetamine, amounting to over $2.3 million.