Salton City, California - El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint arrested a suspected drug smuggler after discovering cocaine concealed in his vehicle yesterday.

The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m., when Border Patrol agents encountered the driver of a White Pontiac G6 at the checkpoint.

A Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the vehicle.  Agents referred the driver to secondary for further examination.  Agents discovered six packages of cocaine concealed in the vehicle’s front and rear bumpers.

The cocaine weighed 8.36 pounds with an estimated street value of $133,500.

The man, a 24-year-old United States citizen, the vehicle, and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.

Last fiscal year, El Centro Sector seized more than 148 pounds of cocaine.

The El Centro Sector’s Community Awareness Campaign is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness on the indicators of crime and other threats.  We encourage public and private sector employees to remain vigilant and play a key role in keeping our country safe.  Please report any suspicious activity to the Border Community Threat Hotline at 1-800-901-2003.