Salton City, California - El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint, arrested a man suspected of smuggling methamphetamine inside an air conditioning unit yesterday.

The incident occurred at approximately 6 p.m., after a 39-year-old man approached the checkpoint in a black Ford Fusion where a Border Patrol detection canine alerted to the vehicle.

Agents referred the man to the secondary inspection area for a closer examination. 

After an intensive search, agents discovered a vacuum sealed bundle of methamphetamine hidden inside the gutted housing of an air conditioning unit.

The methamphetamine weighed 20.27 pounds with an estimated street value of $109,080.

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

On June 22nd San Diego Sector Border Patrol Agents uncovered a similar drug smuggling scheme.

From Oct. 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016, El Centro Sector had 11,989 apprehensions and seized more than 1,015 pounds of methamphetamine.