On Thursday, more than 42 pounds of hard narcotics was seized by U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Wellton Station Interstate 8 Immigration Checkpoint in two separate smuggling events.
At approximately 8:40 a.m., Wellton Station agents referred a gray XPRESS shuttle van to the secondary inspection area for an immigration check of its passengers. During the inspection, a Border Patrol canine positively alerted to the odor it is trained to detect. One passenger on the van, a male 18-year-old United States citizen residing in Mexico was found to have 1.8 pounds of heroin. The heroin has an estimated value of $20,718.
Then at approximately 11:10 a.m., agents sent a grey Ford Expedition to the secondary inspection area after a Border Patrol canine positively alerted to an odor it was trained to detect. A subsequent search of the vehicle discovered 25 bundles with over 40 pounds of methamphetamine. The driver was a 38-year-old United States citizen male from San Luis, Arizona. The narcotics have worth over $125,000.