U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility seized nearly 3 tons of methamphetamine and fentanyl powder hidden in a shipment of household articles, officials said Tuesday.
The seizure was the largest methamphetamine drug smuggling seizure along the southwest border to date.
“This amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine is enough to ruin countless lives and fund transnational criminal organizations,” said Pete Flores, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego. “I’m proud of our officers’ efforts at all Ports of Entry within the San Diego Field Office to intercept this and all smuggling attempts.”
Officials said that around 5:24 p.m. on Aug. 5, CBP officers came across a tractor and trailer hauling a shipment of plastic household articles. During inspection, a CBP officer referred the driver of the tractor and the shipment for further examination.
Officers screened the tractor and the trailer using the port’s imaging system and found several anomalies in the trailer. Further examination at the inspection dock included screening by a CBP canine team which indicated narcotics were inside the trailer. CBP officers searched the cargo and discovered 414 packages that concealed methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Officers removed approximately 5,528 pounds of methamphetamine and 127 pounds of fentanyl powder worth nearly $13 million.
A 53-year-old Mexican driver was arrested for attempted narcotics smuggling. CBP officers turned the driver over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The driver currently faces federal charges and was transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in San Diego. CBP seized the tractor, trailer, and narcotics.