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$2.5 million of meth hidden in shipment of watermelons seized at Otay Mesa

U.S. Customs and Border Protection on May 21, 2021, shared this image of a shipment of watermelons found to contain meth at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility .

Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry seized more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine — worth an estimated $2.5 million — in a shipment of watermelons last week, authorities said.

The driver in a truck hitched to a tractor-trailer hauling watermelons arrived at the commercial import inspection facility on Tuesday, according to the manifest.


But an inspection by officers and drug-sniffing dogs uncovered among the fruit nearly 200 plastic containers packed with 1,100 pounds of methamphetamine, authorities said.

Officers arrested the driver, a 47-year-old Mexican national, on allegations of attempted drug smuggling.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.