Border Patrol agents locate meth inside pickup’s gas tank

Border Patrol agents arrested a man suspected of smuggling methamphetamine inside his pickup’s gas tank at the Highway 86 checkpoint Friday morning.

At around 11:40 a.m., a 66-year-old man drove up the checkpoint in a 2003 Chevy Silverado. Before reaching the primary inspection area, a Border Patrol canine detection team alerted to the driver’s side of the vehicle.

After being referred to secondary inspection, agents found 74 packages stuffed inside the pickup’s gas tank. The contents of the packages were tested and resulted positive for methamphetamine.

The total weight of the methamphetamine was 77.22 pounds with an estimated street value of $270,270.

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