$6 Million Meth Found in Fake Watermelons Seized at US-Mexico Border

Mexican drug cartels are increasingly using everyday fruits and vegetables as a cover to smuggle drugs into the United States, according to recent seizures of methamphetamine.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials recently seized approximately two tons of methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth, cleverly disguised as bright green watermelons at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego, California.

The drugs, worth $5 million, were hidden in a shipment of real watermelons and wrapped in approximately 1,220 fake ones. The haul was discovered when a truck driven by a 29-year-old man was selected for a second inspection.

Rosa Hernandez, the port director, according to The guarddescribed the method of concealment as “advanced,” adding that as cartels continue to refine their smuggling techniques, law enforcement agencies are also improving their strategies to intercept such contraband.

The seizure follows another major raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Atlanta, Georgia, where agents found more than 2,500 pounds of meth, worth $3.2 million, hidden in boxes of celery at a state farmers market in Forest Park on August 8. DEA Special Agent Robert Murphy called it an “unbelievable” amount of drugs, and noted the audacity of the cartel to move such a large shipment so far from the border. The Georgia Department of Agriculture later destroyed the celery due to possible meth contamination.

A day after the Atlanta seizure, border agents discovered another shipment of methamphetamine, this time 629 pounds, hidden in a shipment of celery in Otay Mesa. The 34-year-old driver had reported the shipment as celery, but federal authorities found something else.

Drug cartels have used a variety of products to smuggle illegal substances across the border. Earlier this year, six tons of meth were found in a shipment of squash in California. In another case last year, 3,000 pounds of meth and cocaine were discovered hidden in containers of jalapeño pasta. Other products used in drug trafficking have included green beans, sugar, flour and candy, according to CBS News.

The success of these recent seizures is being attributed to Operation Apollo, an anti-fentanil initiative launched in Southern California last October and expanded to Arizona in April. The operation emphasizes intelligence gathering and interagency cooperation.

According to The guardThese busts coincide with the DEA’s observance of National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day, marked by a photo exhibit at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than 107,543 people died of drug poisoning or overdoses last year. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram described the ongoing crisis as the most dangerous in U.S. history and urged the public to remember the lives lost on this day.