Feds Bust Cartel Meth Smugglers on US Southern Border
Increased seizures reflect an increase in cartel drug smuggling efforts
Federal Officers are continuing to put a significant dent in the cartels' meth smuggling operations, following up on a string of recent large-scale seizures, with even more huge busts.
The El Centro Border Patrol Sector last week announced some huge seizures as part of an enforcement effort called "Operation Hourglass" :
1,374 pounds of meth
455 pounds of cocaine
445 pounds of fentanyl
plus a large amount of forfeited cash
On March 2, 2025, agents at the Campo Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate 8 discovered a hidden compartment under the bed of a pick-up truck that contained 35 large foil-wrapped packages. Once unwrapped, the Border Patrol Agents found 198 pounds of meth worth $436,300.
US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Agents at the Otay Mesa International Border Crossing discovered more than 116 pounds of meth that Cartel Smugglers tried to drive into California from Mexico on Friday, March 7, 2025:
The federal agents in California were not alone in making large meth seizures this month. Agents in South Texas have also been busy:
CBP Officers on the Pharr International Bridge took a closer look at a tractor-trailer hauling Persian Limes from Mexico on March 7, 2025, - and found that was not all it was hauling.
Aided by the sharp nose of a K9, the CBP Agents found 279 pounds of meth hidden inside the truck's cargo of limes. That's a load of drugs worth more than $2.4 million dollars a Mexican Cartel just lost.
(Incidentally, this is not the first time that Cartel Smugglers have used a large load of limes to move a large load of drugs on the Pharr International Bridge. In 2017, smugglers tried disguising 3,947 pounds of pot as key limes and mixing the fake "limes" with real ones. The ruse did not fool US Federal Agents).
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Lieutenant Chris Olivarez says the numbers of drug busts along the border with Mexico are increasing because the cartels’ human smuggling businesses have recently declined —- so they are stepping up their drug smuggling operations to make up for the drop in profits:
Should more be done to keep cartel drugs off US streets?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
