Drug smugglers hatched a creative plan to get their product into the country, but their plans were foiled by eagle-eyed officials who noticed something seemed fishy about the produce they were inspecting.
United States border agents discovered a truck carrying more than five million dollars worth of methamphetamine inside fake watermelons.
The alleged perpetrators wrapped the meth in plastic packaging and used two shades of green paint to attempt to hide the drugs in the containers, which were meant to pass as fruit.
A total of 1,220 packages were seized, which equals out to 4,587 pounds of methamphetamine.
Methamphetamine, also known as meth for short, takes the form of a highly addictive pill or powder.
The discovery was made on August 16, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials inspected a truck which was hauling a trailer, in the border town of Otay Mesa in Mexico.
The driver of the commercial tractor-tailor, 29, was detained by Homeland Security officials.
Port Director for the Area Port of Otay Mesa, Rosa E. Hernandez stated: ‘I am incredibly proud of our team for their exceptional work over the past few weeks in uncovering sophisticated and diverse smuggling methods,’ according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
She continued: ‘As drug cartels continue to evolve their smuggling techniques, we will continue finding new and better ways to prevent these dangerous drugs and other contraband from entering the country.’
Just a week prior, on August 9, another drug seizure was made in a huge shipment of celery, which contained 508 packages of drugs inside.
The K-9 unit had used a sniffer dog, who alerted to the meth in the produce, resulting in the estimated street value of $755,000.
The celery contained almost 629 pounds of meth, which was allegedly being transported by a 34-year-old driver, who had a legitimate border crossing card.
According to CBS News, both of the drugs hauls had a total value of six million dollars.
The seizures were made under the umbrella of Operation Apollo, which is a California and Arizona-based holistic group, whose mission it is to put an end to fentanyl trafficking.
Border agents have previously dealt with drug dealers attempting to use food items to disguise their illegal substances into the United States.
Drug dealers using bananas has been the most popular tactic.
Other food items that have been used include Gouda cheese and avocados.
In December 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials discovered more than 3,000 pounds of meth and cocaine inside jalapeno paste bins at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Previously, products such as green beans, flour, sugar and candy were resourced by drug dealers as well.