Man arrested for smuggling meth, fentanyl

A 21-year-old man was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 2 pounds of methamphetamine and less a pound of fentanyl while crossing through the west port of entry pedestrian lanes.

Adrian M. Terriquez, city of residence undisclosed, was taken into custody at 6 p.m. by Homeland Security Investigations agents and booked into county jail without bail on suspicion of unlawful importation of a controlled substance, County Sheriff’s Office arrest records stated.

According to a federal court complaint, Terriquez, while attempting to cross, advised a Customs and Border Protection officer that he lived in Mexicali and that he was crossing to go shopping at the Calexico outlet mall.

The CBP officer requested to see Terriquez’s wallet, and noticed that Terriquez’s wallet was empty.

Subsequently, the officer referred Terriquez for further inspection, during which a CBP officer conducted a pat-down and felt an abnormal bulge in Terriquez’s pockets.

A human and narcotics detection dog was requested and alerted to Terriquez’s groin area.

A further pat-down revealed more abnormalities beneath Terriquez’s clothing around his chest and thigh area.

A CBP officer discovered three packages of a white crystalline substance, which had a total weight of approximately 2.99 pounds, and two packages of blue pills, which had an approximate weight of 0.69 pounds.

The white packages field-tested positive for meth, while the blue packages tested positive for fentanyl.

In the court complaint, Terriquez stated he was to be paid 3,000 pesos, or approximately $166.67, to smuggle narcotics into the United States.