USBP: Cache of drugs hidden in vehicle’s battery

Agents say more than $300,000 in narcotics found during Salton City bust

SALTON CITY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents say one man's behind bars and nearly 10-pounds of illegal narcotics are off the streets after a bust at the Highway 86 checkpoint near Salton City.

Agents say they found the cache of drugs around two Sunday afternoon. They say a drug-sniffing dog alerted them to a problem with a white minivan.

Agents say the K-9 steered them towards the vehicle's engine compartment. That's where, they say, they found a large bag of blue pills and two packages wrapped in tape. Agents say all had been hidden inside the van's battery.

Border Patrol says the packages tested positive as fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. The drugs have a combined weight of nearly ten pounds. They have an estimated street value of nearly $340,000.

Agents turned over the driver, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen, the minivan, and the drugs to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for prosecution.