An American woman living in Mexico faces a potential sentence of life in federal prison after officials say she was pulled over in Indio with almost 100 pounds of fentanyl pills in her car.
Adriana Galindo, who now lives in San Luis Río Colorado, was driving a 2015 black Chevrolet Malibu on the 10 Freeway on Tuesday when she was pulled over by Border Patrol agents conducting vehicle stops, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Galindo, 34, was with her young son at the time and told agents that “they were driving to Los Angeles to purchase clothing for a retail store in Mexico and were planning to return home later that day,” the release said.
Galindo told agents they could search her vehicle, and a K-9 unit smelled narcotics, the DOJ said.
Agents found only one blue pill of suspected fentanyl, but once the car was brought back to the station, officials say they found 93.3 pounds of fentanyl pills “in a non-factory compartment located under the car’s front seats.”
The Border Patrol said the narcotics had a street value of more than $1.9 million.
She faces a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and she was expected to make her initial court appearance in Riverside on Thursday afternoon.
The boy’s aunt, a California resident, took custody of him.
If convicted, Galindo faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.