Three men were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents last Monday in Temecula for attempting to smuggle more than $630,000 worth of narcotics.
Early Monday morning, Border Patrol agents in a car were almost hit by a Ford Expedition driving erratically on Interstate 15 in Temecula. Agents stopped the vehicle just north of Winchester Road where a drug-sniffing canine team was used to check the car. A more thorough search revealed more than 12 pounds of heroin in five plastic-wrapped bricks hidden in a backpack.
Border Patrol estimated the street value of the heroin at $242,970. Two men, aged 53 and 41, were arrested. Both were U.S. citizens. The vehicle and drugs were seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.
Later the same day, a 21-year-old male U.S. citizen was stopped by agents at the I-15 vehicle checkpoint, where agents found 19 bundles of cocaine and methamphetamine hidden inside of all four doors of the car.
The cocaine weighed nearly 17 pounds and had an estimated street value of $219,310. The methamphetamine weighed about 19 pounds and had an estimated street value of $168,660. The man and narcotics were turned over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
