CBP Agents Snag Record $48 Million In Meth Hidden Inside Lettuce Shipment At Southern Border

By Caleb Revill of FreightWaves

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced several large drug busts this week after field operatives seized a record-breaking 3,400 pounds of methamphetamine on the Southern border and 266 pounds of cocaine on the Northern border – all on the same day.

According to a CBP news release, field operatives seized the methamphetamine – valued at $48 million – from a tractor trailer at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility on the Texas-Mexico border on Aug. 1. The release states that this seizure is the largest ever in the port of entry’s history.

CBP officers assigned to the facility encountered a tractor trailer entering from Mexico and selected it for inspection. After using nonintrusive inspection equipment and physically inspecting the shipment, officers found 1,488 packages of alleged methamphetamine concealed in the shipment of lettuce.

Customs and Border Protection officers found 1,488 packages of alleged methamphetamine in a shipment of lettuce from Mexico, as well as 100 bricks of cocaine hidden on an outbound tractor trailer to Canada on Aug. 1. (Photo: CBP and Jim Allen/FreightWaves

Officers seized the narcotics and vehicle. Homeland Security Investigations special agents have initiated a criminal investigation, according to the release.

“Our CBP officers remain vigilant and intercepted this massive methamphetamine load, preventing it from reaching American streets,” said Carlos Rodriguez, port director of the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry, in the release.

The same day, CBP officers at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry near Port Huron, Michigan,  seized 266 pounds of cocaine from a tractor trailer leaving the U.S. for Canada. According to another news release from CBP, an X-ray scan of the trailer and subsequent physical inspection conducted by officers and a K-9 team revealed 100 bricks of suspected narcotics concealed behind a fake wall in the trailer.

The illicit drugs were confirmed to be cocaine through later testing, and they were seized along with the truck and trailer. The driver, a Canadian citizen, will face local prosecution in St. Clair County, according to the release. The case remains under investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.

“We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to disrupt the flow of dangerous drugs into our communities,” said Port Director Jeffrey Wilson. “This seizure showcases the effectiveness of our layered approach to border enforcement, which is further enhanced by the assistance of our regional law enforcement partners.”

The release states that this discovery comes on the heels of one of the largest inbound fentanyl seizures on the Northern border within the past five years in Detroit. Nearly 6 pounds of fentanyl pills were seized by CBP officers from inbound international mail during that incident on June 2.