Nearly $5 million in meth seized from semi trailer at California cargo facility

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Otay Mesa, California, seized thousands of pounds of crystal methamphetamine from a semi truck’s trailer this month.

On April 14, 2026, a 31-year-old male Mexican citizen operating a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia tractor with attached trailer approached the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility.

The truck was hauling a shipment manifested as corrugated cardboard boxes.

The vehicle was selected for secondary inspection.

CBP said that nonintrusive imaging technology “revealed anomalies within the trailer’s front wall, and a CBP canine alerted officers to the same area.”

During a subsequent physical inspection, officers discovered 300 packages of methamphetamine weighing 3,078.10 pounds.

CBP seized the drugs, which have an estimated street value of $4,924,960.

“Our CBP officers at ports of entry are unwavering guardians,” said Otay Mesa Port Director Rosa E. Hernandez. “Their diligence prevented illegal narcotics from entering our country, so our communities are kept safe from dangerous drugs.”