A woman driving with her 5-year-old daughter was arrested this week at an immigration checkpoint in Temecula after Border Patrol agents discovered more than 5 pounds of heroin in a diaper bag, they said. authorities.
The suspect was driving north on Highway 15 in a black Ford pickup truck when she was stopped at the checkpoint Tuesday evening, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. Officers searched her vehicle and found the pink diaper bag decorated with rainbows.
Inside the bag, they found heroin with an estimated street value of nearly $70,000, authorities said.
“Drug trafficking organizations will go to great lengths to smuggle their dangerous goods across the United States, even if it means endangering the lives of young children,” said Chief Patrol Agent Patricia D. McGurk-Daniel in a press release. “I applaud the vigilance and commitment of our officers to protect our communities from these deadly drugs.”
The case was turned over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. The woman, who was not immediately identified by border agents, had previous convictions for drug trafficking.
The 5-year-old “has been transferred to the custody of an appropriate person,” officers said.
Although the woman was arrested by Border Patrol agents, it is unclear whether she had smuggled the drugs across the Mexican border.
California Border Patrol agents sometimes discover women with children smuggling drugs into the state.
In 2018, a 34-year-old woman was arrested while arriving in California from Mexico with her five children in the car when officers found 231 pounds of drugs hidden in her Honda Odyssey.
Cnn
