Customs officers working at a Texas-Mexico border crossing found $18.5 million worth of methamphetamine hidden inside a shipment of fresh carrots, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday.
Office of Field Operations officers stationed at the Pharr International Bridge in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas discovered 930 pounds of meth last Friday while inspecting a commercial truck that claimed to be carrying vegetables.
The agency described it in the news release as a “colossal” amount of drugs.
“This is truly a huge, notable interception of hard narcotics accomplished by our frontline officers in the cargo environment,” Sylvia Briones, port director for the Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas, said in a statement.
[Also read: More drugs seized at unguarded sections of the border than at ports of entry in 2018]
The customs officer assigned to a booth at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility referred a tractor trailer for a second inspection. The truck was sent to a garage-like facility where it was sent through a massive, nonintrusive X-ray machine that scans for narcotics.
The truck was also checked out by a canine officer.
After opening the truck, officers found and seized 384 pounds of meth. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the incident.
Customs and Border Protection did not disclose any information about the truck driver.
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