Police Find Over $500K Worth Of Weed Disguised As Carrots At US Border

A truck trying to cross the US border from Mexico was reportedly found to contain over a ton of marijuana hidden in fake carrots.

According to CNN, the shipment was intercepted on Sunday as the truck attempted to enter Texas through the the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, near the Gulf of Mexico.

Border agents, assisted by a canine unit, conducted a secondary examination on the truck after it was flagged by an image-inspection system.

They discovered 2,493 pounds of marijuana hidden within nearly 3,000 carrot-shaped containers, Huffington Post reports.

The contraband, valued at an estimated $499,000, was also mixed in with many real carrots.

In a statement, port director Efrain Solis Jr said,

Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the US-Mexico border. Our officers are always ready to meet those challenges and remain vigilant toward any type of illicit activities.

It isn't clear if any arrests were made, but the smuggling operation is reportedly now being investigated by the US Department of Homeland Security.

Drug smugglers used produce to conceal shipments meant to cross the border several times before.

Agents at the same port as Sunday's discovery allegedly found $1.7 million worth of marijuana and cocaine within bags of carrots and cucumbers last November.

The next month, what seemed to be a commercial shipment of tomatoes was revealed to be hiding 2,394 pounds of marijuana.

Among the more creative smugglers, however, were the people who hid about $6 million worth of cocaine beneath boxes of pumpkins on a boat last September.

Citations: Border officers find ton of pot in fake carrots (CNN), Marijuana Cleverly Disguised As Carrots Seized By Border Patrol (Huffington Post)