More than $520,000 of narcotics seized at Border Patrol checkpoint near Murrieta

MURRIETA (CNS) — A Mexican citizen was turned over the sheriff’s deputies in Riverside after more than half a million dollars worth of narcotics was discovered, authorities said Thursday.

San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents discovered the drugs in a 2012 Ford Focus during a vehicle stop near the Temecula Border Patrol checkpoint around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the agency.

The search yielded seven packages of heroin — totaling 20.6 pounds with an estimated value of $280,500 — and eight packages of fentanyl, also weighing 20 pounds and worth about $240,000.

The unidentified driver of the Ford Focus was arrested and turned over the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the vehicle was seized by Border Patrol.