News

Actions

Officials: Teen had heroin strapped to body

Posted

A 16-year-old boy faces drug smuggling charges after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said agents found packages of heroin strapped to his body.

RELATED: IMAGES: Smugglers using food to hide drugs

According to officials, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents at the Highway 86 checkpoint were conducting an immigration check on a commercial bus Wednesday afternoon when they encountered a teen who appeared to be nervous.

Officials said agents patted down the boy -- a U.S. citizen -- and found four packages of heroin (weighing nearly four pounds total) wrapped around his abdomen and "held in place by a woman's spandex body suit."

RELATED: IMAGES: Unusual drug smuggling attempts

The teen was arrested, and DEA officials took him and the drugs into custody as part of the investigation.