Border Patrol agents nab drugs in passenger’s luggage

El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint said they arrested a woman suspected of smuggling cocaine in her luggage on Thursday afternoon.

Agents said the incident occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m., after an 18-year-old woman approached the checkpoint as a passenger on a commercial bus.

A Border Patrol detection canine team alerted to the bus during a pre-primary inspection. Agents referred the bus to secondary for further inspection.

At secondary inspection, the canine inspection team conducted a sniff of the luggage compartment. A black backpack was removed from the compartment of the bus and through questioning, it was determined to belong to a female passenger. After the woman gave consent to search the bag, agents inspected the contents and discovered four plastic wrapped packages inside. The packages were inspected and tested positive for the characteristics of cocaine.

The combined weight of the packages totaled 10.71 pounds with an estimated street value of $160,650.

The woman, a United States Citizen, and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.

Since fiscal year 2017, which started Oct. 1, 2016, El Centro Sector seized more than 390.71 pounds of cocaine.