Nearly 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine found in carrot shipment at U.S.-Mexico border
Fast Break
Nathan Solis March 25, 2024
It’s a good idea to wash carrots after they’re pulled from the ground because they might have some dirt on them. They don’t typically come with more than a ton of methamphetamine, but you can never be too careful.
A 44-year-old truck driver is in federal custody after he
allegedly
tried to cross into the U.S. from Mexico at the Otay Mesa border checkpoint in San Diego with roughly 3,000 pounds of meth hidden amid a large shipment of carrots.
The driver arrived in a commercial tractor trailer just before noon on March 17 with a valid border crossing card and a shipping manifest that said he was hauling carrots, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release.
But
officials referred the truck to
a secondary inspection revealed
area, where the carrots were unloaded onto the dock. That’s when inspectors found
suspicious packages hidden underneath the bunches of carrots exactly 574 packages that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to officials.
The meth
amphetamine
and the truck were seized
by border agents
,
while
and the driver,
who was not identified,
was turned over to the Department of Homeland Security for further investigation, officials said. The seizure was
capture is
part of an ongoing operation at the border, dubbed Operation Apollo, focused on stopping
the
fentanyl and other synthetic
synthentic
drugs from being smuggled into the U.S.
How a Mennonite farmer became a drug suspect
The carrot caper is the just latest chapter in a saga of creative means to get illegal drugs over the southern border albeit the one richest in Vitamin
Vitimin
A.
Agents at Otay Mesa found over 400 pounds of cocaine stashed in a shipment of cucumbers in September with a street value of over $5 million,
U.S.
Customs and Border Protection said in a news release.
There was the spicy incident when border agents found nearly 2 tons of methamphetamine and cocaine valued at $10.4 million buried within dozens of vats of
fiery
jalapeo paste in December.
But smugglers do not disguise their contraband just in produce.
An intrepid smuggler was arrested at the San Ysidro border crossing in February 2022 after agents found 52 lizards and snakes hidden in his clothing. Agents found the man’s scaly,
squirmy
passengers
wrapped
in small bags hidden in
throughout
his jacket, pants pockets and groin area, according to
a statement from
CBP.
U.S. Customs and Border protection
.
The reptiles were alive during the man’s arrest. Opinion: Many Americans believe migrants bring fentanyl across the border. That’s wrong and dangerous
In June 2022, border agents found around 27 pounds of crystal meth in three child booster car seats after
officials stopped
stopping a family of six at a checkpoint in Murrieta.
Two adults and four children were in the vehicle during the inspection, according to officials.
The father, a U.S. citizen, was arrested while the mother and the children were released.
In February, the U.S. Justice Department arrested 17 people in a scheme to smuggle fentanyl into the U.S. inside
of
fire extinguishers.
One of the suspects arrested in the federal investigation, Toniel Baez-Duarte, was already in custody after being arrested in connection with a drug-fueled massacre of six in El Mirage in the unincorporated area of Adelanto.
Port Director for
Otay Mesa Port of Entry Director Rosa Hernandez applauded agents for catching the
latest
shipment.
While facilitating lawful trade and travel, our officers steadfastly combat the trafficking of dangerous drugs at our borders,” Hernandez said in a statement.
Officials estimate the street value of the methamphetamine is in the millions of dollars. There was no estimate on how much the carrots would sell for.
