A shipment of jalapeño peppers was spiced with four tons of illegal marijuana seized by Customs and Border Protection officers earlier this month in San Diego, Calif.
Officers at the Otay Mesa cargo facility found the $2.3 million worth of drugs co-mingled in the shipment transported by a Mexican man, 37, which arrived at the port of entry at 6:15 p.m. on Aug. 15.
A K-9 unit zeroed in on the peppers, prompting officers to pull 314 large-wrapped packages of marijuana that weighed 7,560 pounds.
“I am proud of the officers for seizing this significant marijuana load,” said Otay Mesa Port Director Rosa Hernandez. “Not only did they prevent the drugs from reaching our community, they also prevented millions of dollars of potential profit from making it into the hands of a transnational criminal organization.”
