OTAY MESA, Calif. — Over the weekend, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Otay Mesa commercial facility discovered 614 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1.4 million hidden in a shipment of green onions.
At about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, July 19, CBP officers encountered a 31-year-old male Mexican citizen driving a tractor pulling a trailer with a shipment manifested as “mint leaves and other spices.” The CBP officer referred the driver, along with the tractor and trailer, to the X-ray imaging system.
During the X-ray exam, CBP officers identified anomalies within the shipment and sent the tractor-trailer to the dock for a more intensive examination. A CBP canine team screened the conveyance, and the detector dog alerted officers to the shipment.
CBP officers probed the boxes and discovered a crystal-like substance that field-tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine. CBP officers extracted 40 wrapped packages of methamphetamine mingled with the green onions.
The driver was turn over to Homeland Security Investigations for further processing. CBP officers seized the tractor, trailer and narcotics.
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U.S. Customs agents discover $1.4 million in meth hidden in truckload of green onions
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