Imperial Valley.- U.S. border authorities seized drugs valued at $344,000 hidden in several articles over the weekend, including a washing machine.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents working at the Andrade crossing, using a trained dog, detected illegal drugs in a Dodge Ram pickup on Friday.
The agents found 72 pounds of marijuana in 40 packages hidden inside the vehicles tires. The driver, a Mexican man, 39, was arrested. The drugs had an estimated value of $32,570.
On Saturday, a CBP agent working at the Calexico crossing sent a 23-year-old driver, a U.S. citizen, to secondary inspection. There, agents found 15 packages of methamphetamine hidden in the front and back seats of the Acura. The drug weighed 25 pounds and had an estimated value of $275,000.
In another incident, also on Saturday, a dog detected drugs inside a washing machinein a crossing east of Calexico.Agents disassembled the machine and found 34 packages of marihuana, weighing 81 pounds, with an estimated value of $36,790.
The machine was being transported in a pickup driven by a 17-year-old from Mexicali.
