Aug. 19 (UPI) — Border agents seized nearly 4 tons of marijuana in a shipment of jalapeño peppers at the U.S-Mexico border, according to authorities.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that it found the street drug “co-mingled” within a shipment of the peppers on Thursday at the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego, California.
The seizure was made after a tractor-trailer driven by a 37-year-old Mexican citizen was referred to secondary inspection, during which a canine team alerted officers to its shipment.
CBP officers then discovered “a leafy-green substance,” which tested positive for marijuana, it said.
A total of 314 large wrapped packages of marijuana with a street value of $2.3 million were found on the truck within the shipment of jalapeño peppers.
“I am proud of the officers for seizing this significant marijuana load,” said Otay Mesa Port Director Rosa Hernandez. “Not only did they prevent the drugs from reaching our community, but they also prevented millions of dollars of potential profit from making it into the hands of a transnational criminal organization.”
Thursday’s confiscation comes days after 10,642 pounds of marijuana was seized Aug. 13 at the facility in a shipment of plastic auto parts.
