Two men arrested in meth smuggling attempt

Two men were arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine inside a vehicle while crossing through the east port of entry.

Frank O. Casillas, 48, and Miki T. McQuade, 44, were taken into custody at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at the port of entry by Homeland Security Investigations agents, county Sheriff’s Office arrest records stated.

Both men, U.S. citizens, were booked into county jail without bail on suspicion of unlawful importation of a controlled substance.

According to a federal court complaint, Casillas, the driver, and McQuade presented themselves for inspection Tuesday morning to enter into the United States through the port of entry while traveling inside a 2011 Toyota Matrix.

A Customs and Border Protection officer referred them to secondary inspection after Casillas said he had not visited Indio in a long time. Crossing records showed that Casillas had crossed the Indio checkpoint within two weeks.

During secondary inspection, a CBP officer noticed anomalies in the quarter panels on both sides of the Toyota.

A narcotics detection dog was requested and alerted toward the rear passenger seats inside the vehicle.

A CBP officer searched the vehicle and a total of 30 packages, which had a combined weight of approximately 29.28 pounds, were removed.

A sample of the contents of one of the packages field-tested positive for meth, the court complaint stated.