Agents save minor, seize drugs, weapon
Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma Sector rescued a 15-year-old Guatemalan boy, seized more than $81,000 in cash, a 9 mm handgun, and close to 15 pounds of marijuana during two separate incidents Monday.
According to information provided by agent Justin Kallinger of the Yuma Public Affairs Office, agents working near the Salinity Canal observed a 15-year-old struggling to swim across the canal.
Agents were able to throw the boy a rescue disc and pull him to safety on their side of the canal.
“Their ability to act swiftly prevented the youth from drowning after his illegal entry into the United States,” Kallinger wrote in a news release.
Agents provided care on scene, and the youth didn’t require hospitalization.
Also on Monday, Integrated Targeting Team (ITT) agents in Blythe stopped a vehicle on westbound I-10, which led to the discovery and seizure of more than $79,000 hidden in the vehicle’s trunk.
Elsewhere, agents assigned to the immigration checkpoint on Highway 95 found a 9 mm pistol, ammunition, a variety of pills and more than $2,000 in cash when a K-9 alerted to an odor it was trained to detect.
A records check on the two occupants revealed the 36-year-old driver had an extraditable warrant out of La Paz County for failure to appear.
All vehicles, drugs, people and money were processed in accordance with Yuma Sector guidelines.