EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Smugglers used a shipment of serrano peppers to hide a “massive” load of meth, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
The drugs arrived from Mexico in a tractor-trailer on Sunday at the cargo facility at the Pharr International Bridge in Pharr, Texas.
Border officer X-rayed the truck and physically inspected the shipment before finding 1,859 packages of meth with the peppers.
The meth weighed a total of 2,155 pounds and had a street value of $31,169,000, CBP said.
“Our CBP officers continue to remain vigilant and intercepted this massive methamphetamine load, preventing it from reaching American streets,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez for the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.
CBP’s Office of Field Operations seized the drugs and the vehicle, while special agents with Homeland Security Investigations took over the investigation, according to a CBP news release.