Crime & Safety
Border Patrol: Mexican National Caught Smuggling Meth, Cocaine Near Fallbrook
The man now faces federal charges for drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance.
Border Patrol agents found more than two dozen pounds of narcotics stashed inside a vehicle they stopped near Fallbrook this week, an agency spokesman said Friday.
The man was identified only as a 37-year-old Mexican national and was pulled over along Interstate 15 in the Fallbrook area on Tuesday, according to U.S. Border Patrol Spokesman Paul Carr.
That's when a K-9 agent sniffed the vehicle and alerted his handler that drugs may be present, according to Carr.
"Agents searched the car and discovered 10 bundles of narcotics stashed inside the lining of the [2003 Dodge] Neon’s backseat," Carr said. "Five of the bundles were filled with cocaine and five were filled with methamphetamine."
In total, the drugs had a combined weight of 24.58 pounds and are estimated to be worth $285,340.
"The man was arrested and the narcotics were turned over to agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration," Carr said. "The suspect faces federal charges for drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance."
Border Patrol officials took the vehicle.
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