Pickup with meth-filled gas tank intercepted at border
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/202429.php
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.21.2007

A 45-year-old Sonoran man Thursday tried to smuggle liquid methamphetamine into the United States in the gas tank of his pickup at the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales.

Shortly after noon Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the became suspicious during their questioning of the man, who was driving a 1984 Chevy pickup, said Brian Levin, Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

One of the agency’s drug dogs alerted officers to the odor of narcotics during a secondary inspection and agents discovered the liquid form of methamphetamines in the gas tank, Levin said. Officers siphoned the methamphetamine out of the tank.

Officers seized the pickup and the methamphetamine, which weighed more than eight pounds. The driver, from Nogales, Sonora, was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation and prosecution, he said.

Trying to smuggle methamphetamine in its liquid form is very rare, Levin said. The last time the agency saw an attempt resembling Thursday’s was nearly a year ago, he said.

Methamphetamine is usually brought in its solid form in packages or bags.
“The smugglers use a variety of methods to try to get their stuff through here,â€