NILAND, Calif. – El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 111 checkpoint arrested a 14-year-old girl suspected of smuggling methamphetamine Saturday afternoon.
The incident occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m., when the girl approached the Border Patrol checkpoint in a silver Toyota Camry. She was a passenger in the vehicle, along with three other male occupants.
Agents referred the vehicle to secondary inspection to check the immigration status of all passengers. The agents questioned the girl of her immigration status and noticed her chest to be highly elevated and oddly shaped. Subsequently, agents discovered that the girl had packages strapped around her upper torso.
Agents tested the contents of the packages, which indicated properties consistent with methamphetamine.
The narcotics had a combined weight of 6.44 pounds with an estimated street value of $22,540.
Agents identified the girl as a United States citizen and turned her over, along with the narcotics, to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.
In fiscal year 2018, El Centro Sector has seized more than 239.34 pounds of methamphetamine.
