SAN DIEGO — U.S. Border Patrol agents in the San Diego Sector are seeing a new and dangerous trend: drug smugglers are now hiding illegal narcotics inside vehicle batteries. This tactic is part of a larger effort by criminal organizations to get dangerous substances into the country, but it hasn't gone unnoticed. In recent months, agents have caught multiple smugglers using this method.

One of the most recent incidents occurred on August 20, when Border Patrol agents, working with the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, pulled over a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Interstate 5 in Carlsbad. A search of the vehicle revealed a shocking discovery: 9.25 pounds of cocaine and 2.1 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside the car's battery. The driver was arrested, and the drugs were seized and taken to th

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