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Border agents seize $37M in meth from trucks

Two busts net 1,800 pounds of methamphetamine in Texas, California

Agents find more than 1,800 pounds of crystal methamphetamine hidden in a shipment of tomatoes in South Texas. (Photo: CBP)

In two recent cases, border agents in Texas and California foiled attempts to use commercial trucks to move methamphetamine across the United States-Mexico border.

Liquid meth was found in a truck’s gas tank in California. (Photo: CBP)

On Saturday, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents found gallons of liquid methamphetamine inside a tractor’s gas tank at the Highway 111 checkpoint in Southern California.

Agents were unable to determine the weight of the liquid meth due to the volatile and dangerous state of the narcotics, according to a release. The value of the meth was also uncertain. 

The agents turned over the driver, the truck and the drugs to the Drug Enforcement Administration.


Another incident on Saturday occurred at the  Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility in South Texas. Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discovered 1,853 pounds of crystal meth in a shipment of tomatoes from Mexico.

The alleged methamphetamine has a street value of $37 million. 

CBP seized the narcotics and the tractor-trailer. The case was turned over to the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com