American border inspectors intercepted an alleged shipment of $4.3million worth of methamphetamine that was hidden inside 114 packages of cucumber pickles.
US Customs and Border Protection said that the alleged attempt to smuggle narcotics was foiled on April 17 by officers manning the border crossing at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, which spans the Rio Grande river between Tamaulipas in Mexico and Pharr in Texas.
‘This substantial quantity of hard narcotics will not make its final destination in the United States,’ said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas.
‘This interdiction reinforces our officers’ role in advancing CBP’s border security mission by preventing dangerous drugs from entering and negatively impacting our communities.’
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is reporting a new record number of methamphetamine seizures in Chicago.
In the entirety of fiscal year 2020, DEA agents there removed 1,534 pounds of meth off the city’s streets, according to Fox32 Chicago.
As of several weeks into the current fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, 2020, authorities say 1,813 pounds were seized so far worth nearly $12 million total, or $6,500 per pound, the station reported. Nationally, methamphetamine overdose deaths have gone up by about a third over the last year, Robert J. Bell, a Special Agent in Charge with the DEA, told Fox32 Chicago. Our raw numbers of meth-related overdose deaths are relatively low, but they are ticking up.