Two men were arrested Monday after U.S. Border Patrol agents found 186 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle at a checkpoint on Interstate 15 in Temecula, an agent said Tuesday.
The 26-year-old driver of a sport utility vehicle and his 50-year-old passenger, both of Mexico, were arrested after agents discovered the drugs around 9 a.m., officials said.
Agents became suspicious of the men because they seemed nervous, and the SUV smelled strongly of cologne, officials said. They said a drug-sniffing dog smelled the outside of the car and signaled that narcotics were inside, triggering a search.
Fifty-nine packages of marijuana, worth an estimated $92,705, were found in a hidden compartment beneath the SUV's floorboards, officials said.
The men were arrested and turned over to a multi-agency drug task force, officials said.
Call staff writer Morgan Cook at 760-739-6675.
