Feds Seize $5.1 Million Worth Of Meth Hidden In Shipment Of Cucumbers And Bell Peppers

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United States Customs and Border Protection officers were back at it again, taking a big bite of crime by seizing a whopping $5.1 million worth of meth in a single bust.

Officers with the CBP, Office of Field Operations at Pharr International Bridge, in Texas made the seizure after a tractor trailer hauling a shipment of cucumbers and bell peppers was referred for secondary inspection on June 30th.

It was while conducting that secondary examination using a non-intrusive inspection system and CBP canines that the officers came across 360 packages containing a total of 577.61 pounds of alleged methamphetamine within the tractor trailer. The narcotics had an approximate street value of $5,163,496.

“Our frontline CBP officers continue to deploy a strategic combination of inspections experience coupled with technology and that effort yielded this significant methamphetamine seizure,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Laredo Port of Entry “These types of seizures illustrate CBP’s efforts to protect our communities from the spread of hard narcotics.”

Two weeks prior to that massive seizure, Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge confiscated more than 1,400 pounds of alleged illegal marijuana hidden within a tractor trailer.

According to a statement, “after physically inspecting the shipment, officers extracted 1,267 packages of alleged marijuana weighing 1,455 pounds concealed within the shipment. This alleged marijuana has a street value of more than $291,000.”

“While no longer a common drug being smuggled into the United States, this seizure of a large amount of marijuana illustrates that it indeed still generates income for smuggling organizations,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.

So far during the 2024 fiscal year which runs from October to September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized more than 126,000 pounds of meth, 124,000 pounds of marijuana, 48,200 pounds of cocaine, almost 14,000 pounds of fentanyl, and 5,500 pounds of ketamine.