Border Patrol agents arrests woman accused of smuggling fentanyl pills
INDIO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Border Patrol agents at the El Cento Sector arrested a woman accused of smuggling approximately 93 pounds of fentanyl pills last week.
In a press release, the arrest occurred on Tuesday, May 14 at 10:50pm when agents saw a blue sedan on Interstate 10 (I-10).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says the agents followed the sedan and "conducted a vehicle stop near the westbound off-ramp to Golf Center Parkway.
CBP says the driver, a woman, and her teenage son were the only occupants of the car, and once they arrived, a canine detection team conducted an "open-air sniff of the sedan's exterior," which lead to the "discovery of a single blue pill," which has similarities to illicit fentanyl pills.
After the agents took the vehicle to nearby Border Patrol station, CBP says the agents saw "suspicious tool markings on the bolts holding the vehicle's seats in place." Once the seats were removed, the agents saw several large bags containing tens of thousands of blue pills in a non-factory compartment underneath.
CBP further says the agents conducted tests, which proved positive for fentanyl, and the total weight of the pills was 93.3 pounds.
"Indio Station Border Patrol agents assigned to the Anti-Smuggling Unit just did what the Border Patrol has done for a century. They protected America from bad things and bad people; in this case a suspected smuggler who endangered a juvenile in a quest to spread deadly drugs into our communities.
We look forward to teaming up with both the excellent prosecutors at the US Attorney's Office, Central District of California and the equally adept Drug Enforcement Administration, Los Angeles Field Office to provide meaningful consequences to this suspected smuggler."
Gregory K. Bovino, El Centro Chief Patrol Agent
After the bags were seized, CBP says the driver, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as well as the vehicle and drugs while the driver's son was released to the "appropriate party."
