Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Saturday seized more than $16 million worth of methamphetamine hidden inside a shipment of fresh broccoli from Mexico.
The incident occurred at the cargo facility of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in South Texas, according to a CBP release on Tuesday.
CBP officers referred for further inspection a tractor-trailer that contained a commercial shipment of fresh produce from Mexico.
The inspection continued into the following day, when officers ultimately removed 1,561 packages of alleged methamphetamine weighing more than 800 pounds.
The alleged meth has a street value of $16.09 million.
“This is a substantial amount of hard narcotics that our officers have detected and seized from drug trafficking organizations attempting to smuggle these drugs across our border,” said Carlos Rodriguez, CBP Port Director for the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas port of entries. “By preventing this drug load from reaching the U.S., CBP advances its border security mission, protecting our citizens and communities.”
The driver was arrested and the case has been turned over to the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
In July, four major drug busts totaling $33 million involving trucks from Mexico also occurred at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.
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