A teenage boy was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly attempted to smuggle nearly 27 pounds of methamphetamine into the United States, authorities said on Wednesday.
Surveillance camera operators captured video of the boy on Saturday at 10:40 p.m. in a remote area about one mile east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, just a few hundred yards north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The boy appeared to be carrying two dark duffel bags, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
When approached by agents, the boy told them he was hiking in the area, which authorities deemed “unlikely.” At the time of the encounter, the duffel bags, which had previously been seen in the surveillance video, were no longer in his possession.
A Border Patrol K-9 unit was able to find the two bags nearby. According to agents, both of the bags contained water bottles wrapped in electrical tape, which appeared to be filled with a crystalline substance.
After investigating the contents of the water bottles, agents determined they had the characteristics of methamphetamine, which further tests later confirmed.
A total of 26.89 pounds of methamphetamine were seized from the duffel bags. They were estimated to have a street value of more than $32,000.
According to others, however, the price could be much higher.
In 2007, the Drug Enforcement Administration pegged the price of a pound of meth in the San Diego area as costing $9,000 to $17,000. Multiplied by 27 pounds, that provides an estimated total of $243,000 to $459,000.
More recently, Pacific Sands Recovery Center estimated the price of an ounce of meth at $150 to $300. That equates to about $2,400 to $4,8000 for a pound, or $64,800 to $129,600 in total.
The narcotics and the boy were turned over to the DEA for further investigation, CBP said.
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