Cocaine seized by Border Patrol in Pine Valley

PINE VALLEY - U.S. Border Patrol agents working Thursday at an inspection station in the East County highlands discovered an 80-pound cache of cocaine hidden in a sport utility vehicle, authorities reported.

The Nissan Pathfinder entered the Pine Valley-area Interstate 8 checkpoint about 7:15 a.m., according to USBP public affairs.

While federal officers were looking over the SUV, a drug-sniffing dog alerted them to the presence of contraband, officials said.

The agents then inspected the vehicle’s undercarriage and noticed that it had been modified.

Removing the gas tank, they found a compartment containing 33 bundles of cocaine.

The two men in the vehicle, Mexican nationals ages 32 and 45, were arrested on suspicion of narcotics trafficking and turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Their identities were withheld.

Tags: SDNN

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