Thread: Meth hidden in sealed vegetable cans seized at checkpoint

Meth hidden in vegetable cans seized at checkpoint

By Christopher Cadelago
Monday, September 13, 2010 at 4:23 p.m.

PINE VALLEY — A 42-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of attempting to smuggle more than 10 pounds of crystal methamphetamine in vegetable cans through the Interstate 8 checkpoint, federal authorities said.

U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered the man, whose name was not immediately available, at the checkpoint about 1 a.m. Saturday. Agents grew suspicious when he began acting nervous, prompting them to direct his Ford Mustang to a secondary inspection area, the agency said.

Agents, along with a Border Patrol dog, searched the trunk of the Mustang and found grocery bags holding several cans of what appeared to be vegetables. Agents opened five of the cans and discovered sealed bottles of meth.

The meth had an estimated street value of $192,060.

The foiled attempt came a month after agents thwarted a marijuana smuggling attempt in which sealed vegetable cans were used at the San Clemente checkpoint.

christopher.cadelago@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1334 • Twitter @ccadelago

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010 ... heckpoint/

C.B.P. News Release

U.S. Border Patrol Again Foils Canned Drug Smuggling Attempt

Checkpoint Agents Nab $192K Meth Stash From Sealed Vegetable Cans

(Monday, September 13, 2010)

Pine Valley, Calif. — Over the weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a 42-year-old man for attempting to smuggle more than 10.5 pounds of crystal methamphetamine through a checkpoint inspection on Interstate 8 near Pine Valley.

On Saturday at 1 a.m., agents encountered the man, a U.S. citizen and resident of Los Angeles, as he arrived to the checkpoint driving a Ford Mustang. During the inspection, agents became suspicious of the man’s nervous actions, prompting them to direct the vehicle to a secondary inspection.

A Border Patrol K-9 team conducted a cursory inspection of the vehicle, resulting in a positive alert to the rear of the vehicle. Agents physically searched the trunk of the vehicle and discovered grocery bags containing several cans of vegetables. An inspection of the cans revealed anomalies in five of them, which led agents to open those cans and discover bottles containing crystal methamphetamine sealed inside.

The suspected smuggler and the methamphetamine, which had a total weight of 10.67 pounds, and an estimated street value of $192,060, were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Last month, Border Patrol agents at the San Clemente checkpoint thwarted a marijuana smuggling attempt in which sealed vegetable cans were also used.

Through coordinated enforcement operations, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a strong defense-in-depth enforcement posture along major routes of egress from the border to our nation’s interior.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Contacts For This News Release
San Diego Sector
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (619) 216-4182 Ext: 114 or
(619) 652-9966 Ext: 192 (Spanish)

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2010_3.xml