Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge and Otay Mesa cargo facilities have foiled three attempts to smuggle more than $5.5 million worth of narcotics into the US. The drugs were hidden in mango, cabbage and watermelon shipments from Mexico.
A press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from May 29 explained how CBP officers assigned to the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge loading facility inspected a tractor/trailer arriving from Mexico with a load of fresh mangoes. Using all available tools and resources, discovered packages of suspected narcotics concealed within the shipment.
635 packages of suspected methamphetamine were found in a mango shipment / Image: CBP
CBP officers removed 635 packages of suspected methamphetamine weighing 131 pounds (59.5 kg) with a street value of $2,623,500. CBP seized all of the narcotics, the cargo truck, and the case remains under investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
That same day, officers inspected a shipment of fresh cabbage and ultimately discovered 30 packages of alleged cocaine hidden within the tractor. These narcotics weighed 73.5 pounds (33.38 kg) and are valued at $567,500.
During another cargo inspection operation at San Diego’s Otay Mesa commercial facility on May 18, Customs and Border Protection agents discovered more than 1,100 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in a shipment of watermelons.
Source: abasto.com
