SAN DIEGO — A U.S. citizen is accused of trying to smuggle nearly 27 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in child booster seats into the country, customs officials said.
The street value of the 26.9 pounds of meth seized by customs officials was approximately $60,000, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said in a news release on Friday.
According to the release, agents assigned to the Newton Azrak Border Patrol Station in Murrieta stopped a driver on Interstate 15 north of the checkpoint on Wednesday. There were two adults and four children inside the vehicle,
During a search, Border Patrol K9 officers alerted agents to narcotics hidden in the children’s booster seats, KNSD-TV reported. Agents discovered several packages that contained a white crystal-like substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the television station.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested and the vehicle was seized by the Border Patrol, CBP said in its news release.
The driver was turned over to Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force for prosecution. The four children and their mother were released, the release stated.
It was unclear what the relationship was between the driver and the other passengers.
“Our agents continue to work around the clock to protect our communities,” Aaron M. Heitke, chief patrol agent at the San Diego Sector, said in a statement. “Drug smugglers will use any means necessary to get their poison onto our streets. Nothing is sacred to them, not even family.”
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