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Here we go again. Another smuggler trying to get his drugs into the United States by hiding them inside of something innocuous. This time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations officers at the Hidalgo International Bridge in Texas, found a bunch of meth hidden in a shipment that was supposed to just be roses.
On Tuesday, CBP officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility were just going about their day, doing their jobs as usual when they encountered a tractor-trailer attempting to gain entry into the United States from Mexico. The tractor-trailer’s manifest showed it was delivering a truckload of roses, but a CBP officer selected the vehicle for secondary inspection anyway.
After utilizing nonintrusive inspection equipment and a canine team, the CBP agents conducted a physical inspection of the tractor-trailer and discovered 154 packages of alleged methamphetamine with a combined weight of 857.59 pounds concealed within the shipment of roses. Total street value of the drugs? $7,660,000.
“CBP in full bloom, not so rosy for the bad guys,” the CBP South Texas X (Twitter) account wrote, announcing the major drug bust.
As a result of the search, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the narcotics and vehicle, and Homeland Security Investigations began a criminal investigation into the matter.
“This large hard narcotics seizure reflects the excellent work done by our CBP officers; their use of our tools and technology is second to none,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry, said in a statement.
.@CBP in full bloom, not so rosy for the bad guys: @DFOLaredo #CBP officers seize $7.6M in methamphetamine at #Pharr International Bridge in shipment of roses. @HSI_SanAntonio is investigating. Read more: https://t.co/oLBVhlnIMk pic.twitter.com/O4DkXjTtiZ
— CBP South Texas (@CBPSouthTexas) August 14, 2025
As we have chronicled on numerous occasions, smugglers will use just about any product to try and conceal the drugs they are tying to get into the United States. Recently, a tractor-trailer hauling soft drinks was busted at the Texas border with almost $3 million worth of cocaine. Previous to that, Texas CBP agents caught another drug smuggler trying to hide over $15 million worth of meth inside a shipment of carrots.