A multi-million dollar drug bust yielded $61 million worth of marijuana and meth on August 7, 2020.
Searches of two big rigs headed into the United States at San Diego’s Otay Mesa border crossing netted two big hauls that included 14,880 pounds of marijuana in lime boxes in one truck and 668 pounds of meth inside cactus crates in another. The drugs were seized in Otay Mesa, California. Smugglers tried to disguise 590 packages of meth in green tape to blend in with the shipment, but they couldn’t get it past a canine’s nose.
The canine team screened the shipment, and the dog alerted to a pallet of cactus. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searched inside the crates of cactus pads and found packages wrapped with green tape hidden inside among the pads.
In total, officers found 590 packages, containing about 668 pounds of methamphetamine. The narcotics have an estimated street value of over $1.5 million.
Later that same day, again at the Otay Mesa, CA cargo crossing, officers inspected another tractor-trailer after discovering anomalies during a scan by X-ray imaging system. Officers opened the boxes and found large tape wrapped packages inside the many boxes manifested as limes.
The packages contained 14,880 pounds of marijuana. The marijuana has an estimated street value of $60 million.
