U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers allegedly discovered Sunday night nearly 50 pounds of methamphetamine in an ice chest full of fish, ABC News reported.
CBP said a 34-year-old man was allegedly attempting to smuggle in the drugs through the southern border with Mexico in 25 packages in the ice chest, the outlet noted. The agency found the drugs using routine screening procedures, ABC News reported.
“In the secondary inspection area, a non-intrusive inspection of the vehicle was conducted,” CBP said in a statement Wednesday, according to ABC News. “CBP officers utilized the port’s imaging system to screen the vehicle and observed irregularities within an ice chest found in the vehicle’s trunk. A CBP K-9 team responded and alerted to the presence of narcotics.”
Almost 50 pounds of methamphetamine found in an ice chest full of fish has been discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers during a routine screening of a vehicle trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. https://t.co/hMi6oHjTPT
— ABC News (@ABC) April 18, 2024
“Drug traffickers will go to great lengths in attempt to deceive our officers,” Calexico Area Port Director Roque Caza said, according to the outlet. “I’m proud of our highly trained officers working diligently every day to combat these dangerous drugs that have claimed so many lives.” (RELATED: Drone Shop Owner Arrested For Helping Gangs Drop Guns, Phones And Meth Into Prisons)
This seizure is part of an ongoing Operation Apollo by CBP, ABC News reported. Operation Apollo is a “counter-fentanyl operation” that began “in Southern California” on Oct. 26, 2023, according to a CBP press release. CBP announced in a press release that the operation expanded into Arizona on April 10, 2024.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our nation has ever faced. The men and women of DEA are relentlessly focused on saving lives by defeating the two cartels responsible for the majority of fentanyl and methamphetamine poisoning our communities — the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels,” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official Anne Milgram said in the press release.