DRUGS WORTH $245,500 SEIZED AT CHECKPOINT

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested two drug smugglers within an hour and
seized about $245.500 worth of drugs,officials said Thursday.

Agents at the San Clemente Border Patrol checkpoint inspected a 1981 BMW on
Wednesday night and noticed that the spare tire and the floorboard appeared
to have been modified.

A drug-sniffing dog led agents to 32 packages of marijuana in the spare
tire and a hidden floor compartment. Officials said the haul of marijuana
weighed about 99 pounds and was valued at $80,000.

Less than an hour later, agents became suspicious of a 1980 Datsun and
directed the driver into a secondary inspection lane. A dog again alerted
agents, this time to a false compartment in the glove box. The compartment
contained about seven pounds of methamphetamine valued at $165,500.