Meth, Cocaine Seized in 2 Pine Valley Checkpoint Busts

Pine Valley, CA — More than $250,000 worth of meth and cocaine were seized from two separate alleged drug smugglers Tuesday at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 8 east of San Diego.

Border Patrol agents made the first bust at about 7:45 a.m. when their K-9 partner alerted them to an air conditioner in the back seat of a 2001 Toyota Sequoia. The driver, a 49-year-old male Mexican citizen, had been directed to a secondary inspection area, according to a news release from the U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector.

Agents dismantled the air conditioner and allegedly found a sealed cylinder tube hidden inside, filled with 18 pounds of methamphetamine. They removed the meth and found a second parcel allegedly filled with 2.5 pounds of cocaine. The combined street value of the two narcotics packages was estimated to be $221,260.

The second bust was made at about 10:30 a.m. when a 23-year-old male U.S. citizen approached the checkpoint in a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck.

He also was referred to secondary inspection, where agents allegedly found four vacuum-sealed bundles of meth with a street value of $45,000 hidden behind the truck’s back-seat wall panel.

A DEA task force took custody of the drugs and both men, who are expected to face federal drug smuggling charges.

Their vehicles were seized by the Border Patrol.

Since Oct. 1, 2015, agents with the San Diego Sector have intercepted more than 1,800 pounds of meth and 900 pounds of cocaine.