Salton City, California - El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio Station arrested a man suspected of drug smuggling at the Highway 86 checkpoint after discovering packages of methamphetamine in his vehicle today.

The incident occurred at approximately 8 a.m., when Border Patrol agents encountered a 30-year-old driver of a 2002 Mercury Sable at the checkpoint.

At a pre-primary check a Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the front end of the vehicle.  Border Patrol agents referred the driver to secondary for further investigation.  Upon inspection, agents discovered six packages of methamphetamine hidden in a dashboard compartment of the vehicle.

The methamphetamine had a combined weight of 11.57 pounds with an estimated street value of $115,400.

The man, a United States citizen, the vehicle, and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.