U.S. Customs unmasks counterfeit watermelons serving as disguise for meth trafficking
At the boundary between Mexico and San Diego, USA, CBP officials stumbled upon a lorry filled with watermelons that served as a facade for a multimillion-dollar methamphetamine trafficking scheme.
Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Otay Mesa port of entry in San Diego, California, intercepted methamphetamines concealed within a watermelon shipment, as reported by the agency. Last Friday, CBP officers exhibiting suspicion towards a 29-year-old truck driver who was attempting to take a load of watermelons from Mexico into the U.S., ordered him to proceed to a secondary inspection area for further examination.
Upon unloading the truck, officers found that the watermelons were counterfeit, and detected 1,220 packages covered in paper, masquerading as watermelons. Inside, they found approximately 2 tons (4,587 pounds) of methamphetamine, valued at more than five million dollars on the streets. CBP seized the drugs and handed over the truck driver to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation.
This incident was not a one-off occurrence. A week before, CBP officers at the Otay Mesa border crossing confiscated a shipment of celery that was utilized to smuggle 629 pounds (around 285 kilograms) of methamphetamine, bearing a street value of roughly $755,000.
Rosa E. Hernandez, director of the Otay Mesa port of entry, commended the CBP officers' dedication in unearthing these intricate and diverse smuggling methods. "As criminal organizations alter their smuggling strategies, we will continually develop innovative and effective ways to block these dangerous drugs and other contraband from entering our nation," she stated.
In recent months, border authorities in California and Arizona have intensified their attempts to impede drug trafficking from Mexico. Operation Apollo, a collaborative initiative between CBP and other agencies, aims to thwart the transportation of fentanyl and other synthetic substances into the United States.
The 1,220 deceptively hidden methamphetamine packages within the counterfeit watermelon shipment were discovered to be worth over five million dollars on the streets. In a similar incident, CBP officers previously seized 629 pounds of methamphetamine concealed within a celery shipment.
