(Suspected smuggler arrested)...It happened early Wednesday morning.

El Centro Border Patrol agents were working the Indio area. At around 1:30 am the agents encountered a vehicle on Interstate 10. They stopped the vehicle in the westbound lanes, near the Golf Center Drive exit. The agents recuested a k-9 detection team from the Indio Police Department. The k-9 alerted to the passenger side of the vehicle. Agents searched the area and found nine packages wrapped in aluminum foil hidden in the rera seat. The packages tested positive for methamphetamine. They weighed a total of 52.31 pounds, with an estimated value of $143,852. The driver admitted to agents he had $8,551 in cash. The agents processed the man at the Indio Border Patrol Station, before turning him over to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office.