CBP Director of Field Operations Sidney Aki called it “a clever attempt to try and smuggle in narcotics, one I haven’t seen before."
What was thought to be a large shipment of onions turned out to be nearly $3 million worth of meth, authorities said. Nearly 1,200 small packages of meth were “shaped into small gloves with a white covering, designed to blend into the onions they were hidden with,” according to the U.S. Customs and Border Control.
CBP said in a statement that they discovered the “clever attempt” at disguising the narcotics in a tractor trailer during an inspection at the Otay Mesa federal facility in San Diego, California, earlier this month.
The driver, a 46-year-old Mexican citizen who was unnamed, and the tractor trailer were flagged and recommended for further examination, the statement said.
During the exam, K9 units alerted authorities, which is when they discovered 1,336 pounds of methamphetamine estimated to be worth $2.9 million on the street, authorities said.
CBP Director of Field Operations Sidney Aki called it “a clever attempt to try and smuggle in narcotics, one I haven’t seen before,” and "time-consuming to wrap narcotics into these small packages, designed to look like onions,” according to the statement.
The driver of the tractor trailer was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Additionally, the tractor, trailer and narcotics were seized by authorities.
