The driver of a sport utility vehicle says he was carrying more than 80 pounds of cocaine might have gotten away with it if it weren’t for that sniffer dog.
Around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the SUV was traveling on the 15 Freeway through Temecula when it was stopped by agents from the San Diego Sector of US Customs and Border Protection.
During a subsequent sniff of the vehicle, a dog alerted agents to the possible presence of drugs. Authorities said a follow-up search revealed a series of cellophane-wrapped packages hidden in a fake dashboard.
Agents arrested the driver and an accompanying passenger and impounded the SUV for further inspection.
In total, authorities said they found 31 bundles in the fake dashboard, containing a total of 81 pounds of cocaine.
Border Patrol agents for the San Diego Sector have seized 2,437 pounds of cocaine since the beginning of the fiscal year, according to the department.
The sector has also seized 3,627 pounds of methamphetamine, 31 pounds of heroin and 475 pounds of fentanyl. It includes 3.65 combined pounds of fentanyl and heroin found from August 11 to August 17.
“I’m proud to say that the men and women of the United States Border Patrol are out there day and night protecting our communities,” Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel said in a statement. “With every successful drug interdiction, I know we’ve saved someone’s life.”