4,587 lbs of crystal meth found hidden inside fake shipment of watermelons

San Diego - The tricks of the drug lords are getting bolder and bolder! At the port of San Diego, customs discovered around two tons of crystal meth hidden inside what looked to be fresh, fruity watermelons!

The smuggling methods of the drug cartels are becoming ever more creative.
The smuggling methods of the drug cartels are becoming ever more creative.  © Collage: Screenshots/X/DFOSanDiegoCA

It's no secret that drug cartels also use everyday fruit and vegetable deliveries to smuggle their deadly wares into the US, but this latest find tops them all – because the fruit isn't even real!

The packages discovered under a shipment of real melons in the port of San Diego are also round and have the typical light and dark green pattern of a watermelon, but there is no real fruit underneath.

Instead, investigators from the US Customs and Border Protection Agency found a total of 4,587lbs of meth of crystal meth in around 1,200 fake melons, according to The Guardian.

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Street value? A whopping five million dollars!

The authorities had become suspicious after a truck driver was waved out for a follow-up inspection.

Port manager Rosa Hernandez called the camouflage method "sophisticated."

"As drug cartels continue to evolve their smuggling techniques, we will continue finding new and better ways to prevent these dangerous drugs and other contraband from entering the country," Hernandez explained.

At the beginning of August, investigators from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) discovered over 2,500 lbs of meth worth $3.2 million hidden in celery crates at a farmers' market in the state of Georgia.

6 tons of meth were also discovered in a delivery of pumpkins in California at the beginning of this year.

Cover photo: Collage: Screenshots/X/DFOSanDiegoCA

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