Crime & Safety
Gym Bags Stuffed With Narcotics Seized In Indio: Border Patrol
Joshua Lamar Chamberlain, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested in connection with the alleged smuggling operation.
INDIO, CA — A 20-year-old man was being held in lieu of $1 million Tuesday for allegedly smuggling 46.7 pounds of methamphetamine and 18 pounds of fentanyl in Indio.
Joshua Lamar Chamberlain was arrested Friday afternoon by El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents who were conducting anti-smuggling operation on Interstate 10, near the Golf Center Parkway exit in Indio, authorities said.
A Border Patrol K-9 detection team was alerted to Chamberlain's 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe, where agents allegedly found a plastic container and black gym bags with narcotics, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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Authorities said 19 packages of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $126,630 and seven packages of fentanyl with an estimated street value of $268,297 were found in the vehicle.
Agents turned Chamberlain over to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department with the alleged narcotics and vehicle. The U.S. citizen was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on Saturday.
