Border Patrol arrests five, seizes $247K worth in narcotics

Border Patrol agents working at the Interstate 8 checkpoint in Wellton arrested five people and seized $247,000 worth of narcotics in two events over the weekend.

According to a press release, the first incident happened at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday. Agents referred a white 2016 Honda City for secondary inspection after a canine alerted to the vehicle. A search led to the discovery of two false compartments containing 13 packages of methamphetamine and six packages of heroin.

The methamphetamine weighed 36.9 pounds with an estimated value of $110,848 and the heroin weighed 7.8 pounds with an estimated value of $136,108. The driver, who was a 31-year-old Border Crossing Cardholder, was arrested for drug smuggling.

The second incident happened at 1:00 a.m. when a gray 1999 Ford Explorer exited the highway and tried to drive around the checkpoint. The vehicle, that was occupied by a female driver, two small children, and three men, was stopped by authorities. The three men were Mexican nationals that were in the country illegally.

The driver was arrested for human smuggling and the three Mexican nationals were arrested for immigration violations. The children were turned over to the custody of a relative.

The narcotics and both vehicles were seized.