Meth worth $2.9M disguised as onions seized at border

OTAY MESA, Calif. — A driver was arrested on suspicion of smuggling almost 1,200 small packages of methamphetamine hidden within a shipment of onions in Otay Mesa, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday.

The incident happened on Sunday around 1 p.m. when border officers encountered a 46-year-old driver and examined their tractor trailer that had a shipment manifested as onions at the Otay Mesa commercial facility.

As CBP canine team screened the truck and trailer, the detector dog alerted to the shipment, prompting officers to search it, according to border officials. That’s when officers found 1,197 packages of methamphetamine shaped into small globes with a white covering, designed to blend with the onions.

Approximately 1,336 pounds of methamphetamine, worth an estimated street value of about $2.9 million, were removed by officers, CBP confirmed.

Meth disguised as onions was found in a shipment delivery from a truck and trailer that was screen …

“This was not only a clever attempt to try and smuggle in narcotics, one I haven’t seen before, but also time consuming to wrap narcotics into these small packages, designed to look like onions,” said Sidney Aki, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego. “These efforts show how effective our officers are, and as a response, the lengths drug trafficking organizations are willing to go to as they try to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. While we have certainly seen narcotics in produce before, it’s unusual for us to see this level of detail in the concealment.”

CBP said border officers arrested the driver and turned them over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further disposition. Officers also seized the tractor, trailer and narcotics.