Fake watermelons hide thousands of pounds of meth at California border, feds say

Inspectors uncovered hundreds of fake watermelons hiding more than 4,500 pounds of methamphetamine at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing in California, federal officials said.

Border officers stopped a 29-year-old man driving a shipment of watermelons at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility near San Diego on Friday, Aug. 16, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release.

On inspecting the load, officers found 1,220 paper-wrapped packages disguised as watermelons hidden among the real watermelons, the agency said.

Inside, they found 4,587 pounds of methamphetamine, agents said.

Officers seized the narcotics and tractor trailer, agents said. The driver was turned over to Homeland Security.

On Aug. 9, officers at the crossing intercepted a shipment of 629 pounds of methamphetamine hidden among a shipment of celery, the agency said in an earlier news release.

A K-9 detected the drugs during an inspection of the tractor-trailer driven by a 34-year-old man with a valid border crossing card, officials said.

The border crossing is about a 25-mile drive southeast from San Diego.

This story was originally published August 21, 2024 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Fake watermelons hide thousands of pounds of meth at California border, feds say."