Second-largest meth bust reported along southwest border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Sunday that it seized more than 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine in its second-biggest meth bust on the southern border.

The agency said the seizure included methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin. The drugs were found Friday morning at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry inside a truck, the agency said.

CBP said the drugs, including 3,014 pounds of methamphetamine, 64 pounds of heroin, 39 pounds of powdered fentanyl and about 37 pounds of fentanyl pills, were concealed among medical supplies. The total value of the drugs was estimated at $7.2 million.

“Smugglers will try every way possible to try and get their product across the border and because of the partnership between CBP, Homeland Security investigations and DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] this significant seizure occurred and we stopped them,” Anne Maricich, acting CBP director of field operations in San Diego, said in a statement.

“This massive seizure is testament of what law enforcement agencies can do when we combine forces — prevent over $7 million worth of deadly drugs from entering our country, thus saving countless lives from addiction and overdose deaths,” DEA Special Agent in Charge John W. Callery said.

The agency said it arrested the truck driver, a 47-year-old Mexican citizen, and turned him over to a joint investigative team of the Department of Homeland Security, DEA and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.