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United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in San Diego and Laredo, Texas seized a whopping $14 million in methamphetamine in four separate busts over the past two weeks.
Talk about taking a bite out of crime.
The first big methamphetamine seizure occurred when a white Ford Excursion towing a trailer was selected for inspection by CBP officers working at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego.
During the inspection, CBP officers noticed an unusual liquid within the trailer’s water tank. The liquid, identified as methamphetamine, was extracted into 22 five-gallon buckets.
The total weight of the liquid methamphetamine was 735.59 pounds with an estimated street value of $1,544,739.
But wait, there’s more…
A second smuggling attempt occurred later that same day when a silver Ford Excursion towing a trailer was selected for inspection after CBP officers noticed tampering under certain areas of the trailer.
Further inspection of the trailer resulted in the discovery of 554.73 pounds of liquid methamphetamine. The liquid methamphetamine was stored in 16 sealed five-gallon buckets. The methamphetamine has an estimated street value of $1,164,933.
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All seven travelers were reportedly turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
The second big bust took place at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge in Laredo. It was there that CBP officers discovered and seized methamphetamine that totaled almost $8.4 million in street value.
“The seizure occurred on Monday, Nov. 28, at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge, when a CBP officer referred a 34-year-old male Mexican citizen driving a 2005 International tractor hauling an empty trailer for secondary inspection,” reads a CBP press release. “Following a canine and non-intrusive inspection system examination, CBP officers discovered a total of 913.50 pounds of alleged methamphetamine within the tractor.”
CBP seized the narcotics, the tractor and trailer, and both the driver and passenger were arrested.
On Monday, CBP officers working in Laredo seized 913lbs of meth with an estimated street value of nearly $8.4M from a tractor hauling an empty trailer.
Learn: https://t.co/CUGWUXeVdj pic.twitter.com/AzKwSEAku2
— CBP (@CBP) December 1, 2022
“Narcotics smugglers have always taken advantage of holiday season traffic to sneak in their dangerous drugs,” said Jennifer De La O, CBP Director of Field Operations for the San Diego Field Office.
A few days later, CBP officers at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility in San Diego found another $3 million-plus worth of methamphetamine hidden in a shipment of carrots.
At the inspection area a CBP human/narcotic detector dog screened the shipment and alerted CBP officers to the presence of narcotics within the pallets of carrots.
During the inspection, CBP officers discovered and extracted a total of 628 packages concealed within the shipment of carrots. The narcotics were tested and identified as methamphetamine with a combined weight of approximately 1,435.19 pounds, and an estimated street value of $3,013,899.
“These types of narcotic interceptions play a critical role in our border security mission,” said Rosa Hernandez, Otay Mesa Port Director. “Our officers will continue to remain vigilant working hard to detect these smuggling techniques, stopping the negative impact that narcotics have, while also preventing the proceeds from funding transnational criminal organizations.”