They looked innocent enough, those couple dozen water bottles in the backseat of a car crossing into the United States from Mexico on Wednesday. But they didn’t fool a drug-sniffing dog.
Turned out the clear fluid was actually liquid methamphetamine — some 120 pounds of it inside 36 clear plastic water bottles, Customs and Border Protection officials said in a news release Friday.
According to the agency, about 9 p.m. Wednesday, a 36-year-old woman was in line at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, waiting to cross the border in a 2020 Ford Edge.
The dog got a hit indicating the possible presence of narcotics, so customs officers targeted the car for a closer look and made the find. All the bottles tested positive for methamphetamine, the agency said.
Customs officers arrested the driver, a U.S. citizen, on suspicion of attempted drug smuggling. They also seized the narcotics, which the agency said had an estimated street value of $344,000.
*story by San Diego Union-Tribune