Yuma agents seize cocaine at checkpoint

Yuma Sector Border Patrol assigned to the Blythe Station seized about 25 pounds of cocaine and arrested a U.S. citizen suspected of smuggling it Thursday morning at a checkpoint near Quartzsite.

Agent Spencer Tippets, of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, said agents working the Highway 95 checkpoint at milemarker 76 referred a white pickup for a secondary inspection after agents observed suspicious behavior by the driver.

Agents found 10 individually wrapped packages of cocaine that had been sewn into the backseat. “They had removed a majority of the padding and put the packages in its place,” Tippets said.

While agents have many tools to assist them in doing their jobs, such as canines and other technology, noted Tippets, often nothing beats an agent's own experience and training.

The narcotics, worth more than $228,600, and the driver were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The vehicle was seized by the Yuma Sector.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.