SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Border officials said Tuesday more than a ton of methamphetamine was seized this month from a medical supply shipment in Otay Mesa.
The bust occurred on May 15 just before 10 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP officers stopped a driver entering the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility with a shipment listed as various medical supplies.
An officer roving through the lanes of trucks awaiting inspection at the port referred the tractor-trailer to an X-ray screening, where "anomalies" within the cargo shipment were detected, CBP said.
The truck's cargo was screened by CBP officers with a canine officer, which alerted the officers to a specific pallet of products. Officers unloaded the shipment and found 120 packages mixed with various medical supplies.
In all, about 2,425 pounds of meth worth about $5.5 million were discovered throughout the cargo, CBP said.
The driver, identified as a 29-year-old man, was arrested and turned over to ICE officials.
"Most of what CBP officers see every day is legitimate travelers and legitimate cargo that needs to speed its way into the U.S. as a critical part of our economy," said Anne Maricich, acting CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego. "But CBP officers know that we must remain vigilant; transnational criminal organizations will attempt any avenue they can think of to try and smuggle their illicit drugs into the U.S."
