$2.5 million of meth hidden in cross-border shipment of watermelons at Otay Mesa
Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry seized more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine — worth an estimated $2.5 million — in a shipment of watermelons last week, authorities said.
The driver in a truck hitched to a tractor-trailer hauling watermelons arrived at the commercial import inspection facility on Tuesday, according to the manifest.
But an inspection by officers and drug-sniffing dogs uncovered among the fruit nearly 200 plastic containers packed with 1,100 pounds of methamphetamine, authorities said.
Officers arrested the driver, a 47-year-old Mexican national, on allegations of attempted drug smuggling.
Seizures of this size “are certainly a risk in the cargo environment,” said Anne Maricich, acting director of CBP field operations in San Diego.
It was the second major seizure of methamphetamine at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry announced in the past week. On Tuesday, authorities said they recently found more than 2,400 pounds of meth worth $5.5 million in a medical supply shipment.
Wosen writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
The discovery of 2,425 pounds of methamphetamine was made Saturday morning at the Otay Mesa commercial import inspection facility
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
