Drug bundles found near border fence

Chucking plastic-wrapped bundles of drugs over the border fence for distribution in the United States apparently remains a popular sport among smugglers.

El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents recently seized multiple kettlebell packages filled with methamphetamine in two separate events, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection release.

The first event occurred Wednesday, about 9:40 p.m., when an agent assigned to the Calexico Border Patrol station discovered four abandoned packages on the ground about one mile east of the Calexico west port of entry.

The agent seized and transported the kettlebells back to the Calexico Border Patrol Station for further processing.

At the station, the package contents tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine with a weight of 4.10 pounds and an estimated street value of $11,275.

The second event occurred early Thursday morning about 2:20 a.m., when an agent assigned to the Calexico Border Patrol station was working near downtown Calexico. He was informed by a Mexican police officer on the Mexico side of the U.S. International Border Fence, that he had just apprehended a man throwing an object over the border wall into the United States. The agent searched the area and discovered a bag containing two small kettlebells.

The agent seized and transported the bundles back to the Calexico Border

Patrol Station for further processing. CBP said contents of the packages tested positive methamphetamine with a weight of 0.79 pound and an estimated street value of $2,172.

El Centro Sector turned over the drugs found in both instances to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.