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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents recently arrested drug smugglers attempting to bring liquid meth that was concealed in the gas tank of a SUV into the country. As a result of the discovery, a 52-year-old female driver and a 46-year-old male passenger were detained and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.
At approximately 2:50 p.m. last Saturday, Customs and Border Protection agents assigned to the Calexico East Port of Entry in California, encountered the driver and passenger of a 2002 SUV applying for admission into the United States. After a cursory examination, the SUV was pulled over for a secondary inspection.
Using non-intrusive technology to perform a comprehensive scan of the vehicle, the CBP agents discovered irregularities in the vehicle’s gas tank area. A further inspection using a CBP K-9 unit alerted the officers to the presence of narcotics.
After extracting 254.85 pounds of gasoline from the SUV’s gas tank, the contents were tested for drugs and came back positive for methamphetamine. U.S. Customs and Border Protection then seized the vehicle and the narcotics.
“Drug traffickers will go to great lengths in their attempts to deceive our officers,” said Roque Caza, Calexico Area Port Director. “I’m proud of our highly trained officers working diligently every day to combat these dangerous drugs that have claimed so many lives.”
USA: CBP officers at the Calexico East Port of Entry discovered 115 kg of liquid methamphetamine hidden in the gas tank of a 2002 SUV. Non-intrusive technology revealed discrepancies in the gas tank following a cursory inspection, and a CBP K-9 unit confirmed the presence of… pic.twitter.com/qhjqU3HBVu
— Crime Intel (@WorldCrimeIntel) January 18, 2025
He is not kidding about the great lengths drug traffickers will go to to try and smuggle their drugs into a country.
Last year, El Centro Sector CBP agents in California arrested a man suspected of smuggling 450 pounds of liquid meth hidden inside an orange Freightliner semi-truck’s fuel tank. In 2023, nearly 10 tons of concentrated liquid meth was found inside almost 12,000 tequila bottles by the Mexican Navy.