Teen accused of using remote-controlled car to smuggle more than $106,000 worth of meth across the border
A 16-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested Sunday after he attempted to use a remote-controlled car to allegedly smuggle methamphetamine across the U.S.-Mexico border. The bundle is estimated to be worth more than $100,000.
Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stationed in San Diego saw a person with duffel bags walking along the secondary border wall. Other agents responded to the scene and found the suspect hiding in thick brush near the border.
When an agent approached the boy, he had a remote-controlled car and two large duffel bags in his possession. The agent questioned the boy and searched his bags, discovering he is a 16-year-old U.S citizen.
The agent found 50 packages of methamphetamine and arrested the teen on drug smuggling charges. CBP said the 55.84-pound bundle has an estimated value of $106,096.
"I am extremely proud of the agents' heightened vigilance and hard work in stopping this unusual smuggling scheme," San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Douglas Harrison said in a press release Tuesday.
This isn't the first time a remote-controlled device was used to attempt to transport drugs across the border. According to CBP, a 25-year-old man was arrested for flying a remote-controlled drone carrying 12 packages of meth across the border in 2017.