Customs agents intercept more than $12M in meth at border crossing

Customs and Border Patrol agents intercepted more than $12 million worth of methamphetamine that crossed into the U.S. inside a truck carrying frozen strawberries from Mexico.

The agency on Tuesday said officers working at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility in Texas intercepted the truck that held 906 pounds of meth worth $12.7 million. The discovery was made on Feb. 16 after imaging equipment and dogs used to inspect the truck revealed 350 packages of what appeared to be methamphetamine hidden within the trailer.

Officers arrested the 42-year-old Mexican citizen who was driving the truck and turned him over to Homeland Security investigators, according to the agency.

Port director David Gonzalez called the seizure an "outstanding interception."

"This was an outstanding interception that our officers achieved this weekend," Gonzalez said in a statement. "The astute sense of conscience and tenacity of our officers is incomparable and truly commendable."

U.S. Border Patrol seized 6,423 pounds of cocaine, 532 pounds of heroin, 332 pounds of fentanyl, 439,531 pounds of marijuana and more than 10,000 pounds of methamphetamine from October 2017 through August 2018.

Copyright 2019 U.S. News & World Report

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