$7.4 Million of Mexican Cartel Meth Found Hidden in Charcoal

 

PHARR, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted $7,400,000 worth of alleged methamphetamine concealed in a shipment of charcoal.  

“This massive amount of methamphetamine was intercepted thanks to our CBP officers who used all of our available tools and resources to stop this smuggling attempt,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.

833 lbs Cartel Meth Seized in Pharr (Courtesy/CBP)

833 lbs Cartel Meth Seized in Pharr (Courtesy/CBP)

On March 24, 2023, CBP officers assigned to the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility encountered a tractor trailer arriving from Mexico. A CBP officer referred the vehicle for further inspection which included utilizing non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment and screening by a (canine team). Physical inspection of the tractor trailer resulted in officers extracting 362 packages weighing a total of 833.34 pounds (378 kg) of alleged methamphetamine concealed within the tractor trailer.

CBP OFO seized the narcotics and tractor trailer and special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiated a criminal investigation.

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Just wondering if the normal weight of a vehicle compared to actual weight is one of the non intrusive inspection methods.  If a car drives up on a scale and you have a computerized list of the weights of vehicles and the actual weight is above what it should be and the trunk is empty that should indicate a possible hidden cargo.

People modify their vehicles. Heck even custom wheels would set your "method" off.
And you could lighten the vehicle by removing the spare or something and add the exact weight back in "hidden cargo".

Not to mention all of the differences in trim packages and such.

all kinds of ways to defeat this or make it a non-option in the first place.

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