Mother Found With 'Tens Of Thousands' Of Hidden Fentanyl Pills: USBP

INDIO, CA — A woman driving her teen son on Interstate 10 in Indio earlier this month was transporting more than just her child, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

She was concealing "tens of thousands" of fentanyl pills in her vehicle, the federal agency said.

The bust occurred just before 11 a.m. May 14 after agents in a marked USBP vehicle began tailing a "suspicious" blue sedan on the freeway, according to the agency.

The agents pulled the car over near the westbound off-ramp to Golf Center Parkway and discovered the mother and son.

A K-9 was used to sniff the car's exterior.

"An initial search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of a single blue pill," the USBP reported. "The pill possessed characteristics similar to those of illicit fentanyl pills."

After the discovery, the sedan was transported to a nearby Border Patrol station for further inspection. It was there that agents spotted "suspicious tool markings" on the bolts holding the vehicle’s seats in place, the USBP reported.

The seats were removed, and "several large bags" containing "tens of thousands of blue pills" were discovered in a non-factory compartment, according to the agency. The total weight of the narcotics was 93.3 pounds.

Pill samples tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, the USBP said.

The woman, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on suspicion of smuggling narcotics and child endangerment. The woman, the vehicle and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation. Her son was released to "an appropriate party," according to the USBP.

The woman's identity was not released.