Agents intercept more than 100 lbs. of meth

A 32-year-old Mexicali man was arrested Sunday at the East port of entry for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine inside his vehicle.

Fernando Raul Murrieta-Arrellano was taken into custody about 7:30 p.m. Sunday at port of entry by Homeland Security Investigations agents and booked into county jail without bond on suspicion unlawful importation of a controlled substance, county Sheriff’s Office arrest records stated.

According to a federal court complaint, Murrieta and his vehicle, a 2011 Hyundai Elantra, were referred to secondary inspection due to receiving a computer-generated referral at the port of entry Sunday.

In secondary inspection, a human and narcotics detection dog positively alerted to the exterior of Murrieta’s vehicle.

Following an inspection of the vehicle, 102 brick-shaped packages wrapped in black tape were discovered.

The packages weighed a total of 115.8 pounds. The packages were located in each of the vehicle’s door panels, within the front seats, under the back seats and within the vehicle’s firewall.

A sample from one of the packages tested positive for meth.

In the court complaint, Murrieta admitted that he was aware that drugs were placed in his vehicle, and that he had agreed to smuggle the drugs into the United States.

Additionally, Murrieta admitted to smuggling drugs approximately one time per month over the last year, and that he was offered approximately $3,000 to do so.