Customs officials in California confiscate a substantial $5 million value of methamphetamine cleverly concealed within watermelons.
A 29-year-old trucker operating a large hauler attempting to enter the USA from Mexico declared a shipment of watermelons, as per a statement by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Tuesday.
The driver and his cargo were flagged for further investigation at CBP's Otay Mesa Commercial Facility close to San Diego.
Upon examination, the supposed watermelon shipment was found to contain 1,220 individually packaged bundles of methamphetamines concealed within the fruit, disclosed the CBP.
The illegal substance weighed around 4,588kg.
The individual was handed over to Homeland Security Investigations' custody, and CBP seized the drugs and the truck, as per their statement.
The arrest was a part of Operation Apollo, a campaign targeting the smuggling of fentanyl into the US in California and Arizona, stated CBP.
Earlier this month, CBP officers in Otay Mesa confiscated 629kg of methamphetamines with an estimated street value of $755,000, hidden within a celery shipment, as per the agency.
So far in 2024, CBP has seized around 134,288kg of methamphetamines, surpassing the total amount seized in 2023 - 140,000kg of the drug, as per federal statistics.
Synthetic stimulants such as methamphetamines were attributed to around 30% of the nearly 108,000 drug-related fatalities in 2022, as per data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The trucker and the seized drugs will be dealt with by us, as indicated by the CBP's statement.After the investigation, it was us who discovered that the watermelon shipment was actually a hideout for illegal substances.
