EL CENTRO, Calif. — A U.S. Border Patrol K-9 is being credited for thwarting a drug smuggling attempt worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Officials say El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a 39-year-old man around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday after drugs were discovered inside the gas tank of his vehicle.
According to Border Patrol, a K-9 unit working at the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint alerted to the driver side wheel well of the truck prior to the man’s arrest. After referring the truck for further inspection, agents checked the gas tank.
At that point, anomalies were noticed and agents tested the liquid which tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine, Border Patrol explained. The driver, a Mexican citizen, was placed under arrest for the transportation of a controlled substance.
A total of 166.8 pounds of liquid meth with an estimated street value of $250,000 was removed from the gas tank by a HAZMAT team. The vehicle and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further prosecution.
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