U.S. Border Patrollers Stop Teen Smuggling $160K of Meth at Pine Valley Checkpoint

SAN DIEGO - U.S. Border Patrol officers staffing a Pine Valley-area freeway checkpoint caught a 19-year-old motorist smuggling methamphetamine inside his SUV, authorities reported Monday.

The young man pulled into the Interstate 8 inspection station in a 2008 Nissan Armada about 9 p.m. Sunday, USBP spokeswoman Mary Beth Caston said.

During a sweep of the vehicle, a service dog alerted agents to the presence of contraband. A subsequent search of th SUV revealed a makeshift compartment behind the front firewall, containing 46 bundles of meth weighing a total of about 47 pounds.

The street value of the stash was estimated at roughly $160,000.

The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of narcotics smuggling and turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration along with the seized drug. The Border Patrol impounded the vehicle, Caston said.

By City News Service / Photo courtesy of U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector