12,000 Pounds Of Meth Worth $18M Found In 1,400 Boxes Of Squash At Mexico Border Thanks To Drug-Sniffing Dogs

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced it had seized nearly six tons of methamphetamine hidden in a shipment of green squash.

Specially trained dogs sniffed out the drugs in the 1,419 packages of squash, the CBP said in a news release.

The shipment was discovered in a commercial tractor-trailer driven by a 44-year-old man when CBP officers at the Otay Mesa port in San Diego requested further examination of the vehicle. After scans of the tractor trailer detected “irregularities,” a canine team was called and the sniffer dogs confirmed the presence of drugs.

The 11,469 pounds of meth, said CBP officials, have an estimated street value of over $18 million, reported CBS News. The unidentified driver, who was carrying a valid border crossing card, was turned over to Homeland Security for further investigation.

Photo of seized drugs and squash courtesy of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection

“Our officers’ commitment to duty, excellence, and the safety of our nation is truly commendable. These results serve as an outstanding display of effectiveness in thwarting the illegal importation of narcotics,” stated Rosa E. Hernandez, the Otay Mesa Area Port Director, in the news release.

The meth seizure was part of Operation Apollo, a CBP op that began in October 2023 in Southern California then expanded to Arizona in 2024 as part of an effort to stem the flow of fentanyl from Mexico into the U.S.

Common Smuggling Trick: Food Shipments

Food shipments have long been the preferred method for smugglers to get their lethal drugs across the border. More than 750 pounds of fentanyl pills were found hidden among a shipment of green beans that attempted to get through the Otay Mesa port in April 2023.

Despite intensified efforts, the DEA has acknowledged the challenge of keeping pace with the influx of fentanyl at the southern border, primarily produced by Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels with precursor chemicals from China.

In January, the DEA reported that it seized more than 77 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder — the most the DEA has ever seized in a single year.

Since Oct. 1, 2023, CBP agents have seized over 12,000 shipments of illegal drugs at border checkpoints. That includes over 3,300 methamphetamine seizures, per the border agency.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, for the 12 months ending June 2023 at 112,323 American lives lost. Nearly 70% of these drug poisonings are from fentanyl. 

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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection