Woman taken into custody after cocaine found in car at Temecula checkpoint

TEMECULA — A 30-year-old woman is in federal custody on suspicion of smuggling 27 pounds of cocaine in her car, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman announced November 11.

The suspect was traveling north on Interstate 15 in the Temecula area around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, when Border Patrol agents stopped her Toyota Corolla, said agent Jose Morales, spokesman for the federal agency’s San Diego office.

The agents stopped the vehicle near the Border Patrol checkpoint and conducted an immigration evaluation, Morales said.

A Border Patrol K-9 team found 10 bundles of cocaine stashed inside the car’s dashboard, he said.

The cocaine weighed 27 pounds and had an estimated street value of $270,000, he said. The drugs were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The 30-year-old suspect, a U.S. citizen, was arrested, Morales said. Her name has not yet been made available.