(NewsNation) — Drug smugglers are becoming increasingly innovative at the southern border, with vehicle batteries recently becoming a popular method of transportation.

The U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector has uncovered a concerning pattern of smugglers hiding dangerous narcotics inside car batteries.

Since April 2025, agents have had "four different seizures that involved basically removing the contents of the battery and using the battery as a containment device for narcotics,” Joseph Rood, a Border Patrol spokesman, told NewsNation's Border Report.

Recent drug seizures involving vehicle batteries in San Diego

The most recent drug seizure involving a vehicle battery occurred Aug. 20, when Border Patrol agents stopped a car in Carlsbad, a city in northern San Diego County. A searc

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