CALEXICO – A drug trafficker with a taste for spicy food couldnt get past U.S. Customs.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detected methamphetamine and marihuana hidden inside cans of pozole and japapeño chiles, authorities reported Monday.
The incident occurred around 7 a.m. Friday, when a 24-year-old man was attempting to enter the United States at the Calexico border crossing in his red, Volkswagen Jetta.
A customs agent noticed that the cans looked unusual and weighed more than normal. A customs agriculture specialist X-rayed two of the cans and, detecting anomalies, turned them over to another agent and his drug-sniffing dog.
The agents opened the cans and discovered five packets that contained a total of 21 pounds of methamphetamine and one packet with 5 pounds of marihuana, which together had an estimated street value of $230,000, according to the CBP statement.
The man, identified only as a U.S. resident, was arrested.
