Border patrol agents find hundreds of pounds of meth in celery at San Diego crossing

Aug. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized 629.72 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value estimated at $755,000, concealed within a shipment of celery in San Diego, the agency said Monday.

On Aug. 9 , CBP officers encountered a 34-year-old man driving a commercial tractor-trailer, seeking entry into the United States from Mexico. The driver, who held a valid border crossing card, was moving a shipment declared as celery.

After routine procedures, CBP officers directed the driver, the tractor-trailer and its cargo to secondary inspection for a more thorough examination.

The shipment was offloaded for closer scrutiny.

A CBP K-9 unit quickly alerted officers to the presence of narcotics.

Officers uncovered 508 packages hidden among the celery.

The driver was handed over to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation.

"Our officers' vigilance and expertise once again thwarted an attempt to smuggle narcotics disguised as everyday produce," Rosa E. Hernandez, port director for the Area Port of Otay Mesa, said. "This discovery underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities from the perils of drug trafficking."

Also on Aug. 9 at Otay Mesa , agents discovered 361 pounds of fentanyl and cocaine hidden within a flatbed trailer -- largest CBP California fentanyl seizure of the fiscal year. The 77 packages of cocaine weighed 227.96 pounds and the 50 packages of fentanyl powder weighed 133.60 pounds.

The estimated street value for those seizures is more than $12.6 million, CBP said.

The border crossing, which opened in 1983, connects Otay Mesa in San Diego and Tijuana in Mexico. It is the busiest commercial port of entry in California.

The seizure was part of Operation Apollo in efforts to control the movement of fentanyl that began on Oct. 26, 2023, in Southern California, and expanded to Arizona on April 10.