MURRIETA, CA — U.S. Border Patrol agents seized nearly 1,000 pounds of liquid methamphetamine worth an estimated $1 million during a traffic stop on Interstate 15 in Temecula, federal authorities announced Thursday.
Agents stopped a northbound semi-truck traveling without a trailer at about 11 a.m. on Sept. 29, just north of the California Highway Patrol weigh station near Temecula. During the stop, a K-9 unit alerted agents to liquid methamphetamine hidden inside at least one of the truck's fuel tanks, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.
The driver and vehicle were taken to the Newton-Azrak Border Patrol Station in Murrieta, where hazardous response specialists extracted approximately 115 gallons of liquid methamphetamine weighing 962 pounds.
The driver, a Mexican national, was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and local authorities for state prosecution; federal agents seized the semi-truck, according to USBP.
"This massive seizure of liquid methamphetamine highlights the lengths these transnational criminal organizations will go to smuggle hard narcotics into our communities," Justin M. De La Torre, chief patrol agent for the San Diego Sector, said in a statement.
Authorities urge anyone with information about suspicious smuggling activity to contact the Border Patrol's San Diego Sector at 619-498-9900.
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