U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confiscated methamphetamine worth more than $4 million concealed in a shipment of brussels sprouts along the US-Mexico border June 2.
The tractor-trailer carrying the shipment was subjected to further scrutiny and the use of a narcotics-detecting dog when an initial investigation revealed irregularities, according to a CBP media release Thursday. The CBP officers — with help from the K9 — extracted a total of 148 methamphetamine packages weighing 2,052.20 pounds worth $4,309,620 concealed within the floor and roof of the trailer, the media release said. The cargo driver was a 51-year-old man. The incident occurred at the Calexico East Cargo Facility, a border crossing station in Imperial County, California, according to the release.
Roque Caza — the director of the Calexo Area Port — attributed the successful impoundment of the shipment to a combination of ‘officer intuition’ and ‘advanced technology,’ while praising the ‘excellent work’ of his officers, per the release. (RELATED: Officials Discover Two Drug Tunnels At The Border)
🍃Start SPROUTING the news🍃!! @CBP officers at the Calexico East Cargo Facility, seize $4 million worth of narcotics in a tractor trailer 🚚 containing brussels sprouts!
Read about it ▶️ https://t.co/2gnrUFQw6w pic.twitter.com/GXbXxhbn4z
— Director of Field Operations Sidney Aki (@DFOSanDiegoCA) June 8, 2023
The U.S.-Mexico border has long been a potential narcotics conduit. U.S. federal agents seized over 17 tons of marijuana after discovering a cross-border drug-smuggling tunnel linking Tijuana, Mexico to San Diego, California in 2011. CBP officers seized over 1,500 pounds of cocaine worth more than $11.8 million concealed in a shipment of baby wipes at the Laredo Port of Entry in Texas, according to a 2022 CBP media release. Director of Field Operations Eugene Crawford called that seizure the largest cocaine bust in 20 years.