U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities recently intercepted a massive shipment of meth bound for Texas from Mexico. Here’s the kicker: the smugglers thought it prudent to hide over 850 lbs of the illegal substance in a rose shipment aboard a large truck. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection found $7.6 million in meth during a search of a rose shipment at the Texas border

“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Well, I doubt very much that William Shakespeare would feel that way if the name of the game were meth.

According to a social media post by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials selected a semi-truck for inspection at the Hidalgo border crossing. At a glance, and on the manifest, it was a truck full of roses for import from Mexico to Texas.

However, a closer inspection revealed a much more sinister stowaway: meth. Not just a small amount of dangerous methamphetamine, either. CBP says the shipment totaled about $7,660,000 worth of the Schedule II substance.

That’s nearly 856 lbs of the stuff disseminated amongst 154 packages. The agency says the substantial find was the result of “non-intrusive inspection equipment and a canine team.” 

But even without an intrusive inspection, the officials managed to find the huge supply of narcotics. CBP uses “Non-Intrusive Inspection” (NII) equipment, like X-ray and Gamma-ray scanners, to search vast quantities of shipments for everything from drugs to radiological threats.

Port Director Carlos Rodriguez says the Texas border drug bust is a prime example of what the officials do to protect the border. “This large hard narcotics seizure reflects the excellent work done by our CBP officers; their use of our tools and technology is second to none,” Rodriquez said.