Federal agents staffing an East County freeway checkpoint over the weekend say they caught a motorist with about 45 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in her car.
The 28-year-old Mexican national arrived at the Pine Valley-area Interstate 8 inspection station in a 2006 Ford Fusion at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.
As officers looked over her vehicle, a service dog alerted them to the possible presence of contraband. They then performed a thorough search, allegedly finding 38 bundles inside the front and back seats and within the rear quarter panels. The drug stash would have had a street value of roughly $455,000, officials said.
The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested and turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration along with the narcotics haul. The U.S. Border Patrol seized her vehicle.
