Officials at Texas’s border with Mexico seized roughly $10.3m worth of methamphetamine hidden in a lettuce shipment on Friday, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
A press release from CBP officials called the seized drugs and lettuce “a salad unfit for this year’s Thanksgiving table”, adding that the 500 packages of meth in question weighed about 1,153lbs.
The commercial vehicle was stopped as it attempted to enter Texas from Mexico at the Pharr International Bridge across what the US calls the Rio Grande.
“Within a shipment of salad greens, our frontline officers discovered contraband that does not belong on any holiday table,” said Carlos Rodriguez, the port director. “As this seizure aptly illustrates, our officers’ use of tools and technology were instrumental in this massive takedown of hard narcotics.”
Friday’s seizure occurred amid a campaign of military strikes by the Trump administration on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific in what it has claimed is an effort to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs into the US.
Meanwhile, in August 2024, about two tonnes of the powerful stimulant known colloquially as crystal meth was seized in packages designed to look like bright green watermelons at the San Diego, California, port of Otay.
Hidden amongst a shipment of actual watermelons, about 1,220 fake watermelons were found to contain 4,587lbs of meth valued at $5m after a truck driven by a 29-year-old man was selected for secondary inspection.
“As drug cartels continue to evolve their smuggling techniques, we will continue finding new and better ways to prevent these dangerous drugs and other contraband from entering the country,” said Rosa Hernandez, the port director.
That seizure came after agents with the Atlanta division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) found over 2,500lbs of meth with $3.2m concealed among boxes of celery at a state farmers market in Forest Park, Georgia, on 8 August.
Another shipment of celery in a shipping crate was found by border agents at Otay Mesa to contain 629lbs of meth. The 34-year-old driver had declared the shipment as celery, according to the federal authorities.
Other varieties of fruits and vegetables have been used to disguise cross-border shipments of illegal drugs, according to US authorities. In May 2024, six tonnes of meth worth more than $18m were discovered inside a shipment of squash in California.
That came after 3,000lbs of meth and cocaine were found in 2023 in bins of jalapeño paste that were being transported over the border.
Traffickers have also stashed drugs inside shipments of green beans, sugar, flour and candy.
