El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a woman driving on Interstate 10 in Indio for smuggling about 51 pounds of methamphetamine valued at about $83,312.
Officers stopped the 28-year-old woman as she drove west on the highway around 11:45 p.m. on July 25.
A K-9 team alerted them to the car and agents found 50 wrapped packages hidden in its side panels, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release. They transported the woman, child, car and suspected drugs to the Indian Border Patrol, where they confirmed the packages contained 50.82 pounds of methamphetamine.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it released the child to his grandfather and turned over the woman, car and drugs to local authorities for further investigation.
The drug seizure was a result of Operation Apollo, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. Operation Apollo is a “holistic anti-fentanyl effort” and began in Southern California in late October 2023 before expanding to Arizona in April.
Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Contact her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared in the Palm Springs Desert Sun: Border Patrol agents arrest woman on I-10 for smuggling methamphetamine
