Christmas Meth Smuggling Attempt Foiled by Border Patrol Canine

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents seized 25 pounds of meth on Christmas.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents seized 25 pounds of meth on Christmas. (Courtesy of CBP)

A brazen attempt to smuggle 25 pounds of methamphetamine through the Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 78 near Blythe, California, on Christmas Day was foiled by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) canine officer who wasn’t taking the holiday off.

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Blythe Station encountered a Cadillac sedan as it traveled through the checkpoint at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Following a CBP canine alert, agents referred the vehicle to the secondary inspection area.

(In celebrating the 50th anniversary of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations canine program, hear from current and former canine handlers that shared their pride in the program. Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and YouTube.)

During a search of the vehicle, agents discovered 10 vacuum-sealed packages that contained a total of 25 pounds of methamphetamine, worth approximately $62,000.

Agents also found a 9mm handgun that contained a loaded 15-round magazine, about 50 grams of marijuana and several pieces of drug paraphernalia.

Agents arrested the vehicle occupants, three U.S. citizens from Oklahoma, and seized the drugs, firearm, paraphernalia and vehicle.

Smugglers often move illegal contraband on holidays, with the hope and expectation that law enforcement will have their guard down.

Agents and their canine partners, however, work around the clock to secure our borders and to prevent contraband from making it further into the interior of our country.

United States Border Patrol Honored in 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program

American Security Today’s ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards program is in its Fifth Year and continues to recognize the Outstanding Innovations of top firms and agencies in the Homeland Security and Public Safety fields.

2020 has been a very challenging year for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the much heralded AST ‘ASTORS’ Awards Winners Presentations and exclusive Luncheon at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC has been canceled and rescheduled for 2021 due to the virus.

Mike Madsen, Publisher, American Security Today
Mike Madsen, Publisher, American Security Today

However, the 2020 ‘ASTORS’  Homeland Security Awards Program was again a huge success and many new categories were added including a section for COVID-19 Detection and Innovation.

United States Border Patrol

    • Excellence in Homeland Security

    • Border Patrol, Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR)

    • The Border Patrol, Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) Unit is a specialized unit of the United States Border Patrol trained in emergency search and rescue & primarily assists injured or stranded migrants who enter the United States illegally from Mexico at remote desert locations.

(John Welter, a Border Patrol agent in the San Diego sector, explains how a little-known team called the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit, or BORSTAR, has largely gone under the radar. Courtesy of The Daily Signal and YouTube.)