Nearly $7 Million of Smuggled Pot Found Mixed with Bell Peppers

A recent shipment from Mexico was loaded with boxes of ripe stuffed peppers. But not like the ones grandma used to make on Sunday with mashed potatoes.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, with the help of their drug-sniffing pooch, discovered nearly $7 millions worth of weed stashed in a load of bell peppers, according to Tucson.com.

The thoroughly green load was found in a tractor-trailer on Saturday at the Mariposa Commercial Facility at the port of Nogales, authorities said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 46-year-old Mexican national, was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Of course, the peppers and weed were seized

Border agents said the more than 13,700 pounds of weed was worth an estimated of $6.85 million. No estimates were forthcoming on the bell peppers.

Later that same evening, customs agents got lucky again.

When officers inspected a Ford SUV at the Dennis DeConcini crossing at the Nogales port, they found more than 34 pounds of cocaine hidden in the back seats.

The cocaine had an estimated value of nearly $386,000, officials said. The driver of the SUV, a 29-year-old Mexican national, was taken into custody, and his vehicle and drugs were seized.

As billions of dollars in illegal drugs circle the globe annually with authorities scurrying to intercept them, traffickers get more creative about hiding their precious cargo.

Mexicans have turned it into an art form.

Their favorite smuggling method seems to be hiding drugs in produce shipments—limes, cucumbers, jalapeños, coconuts, carrots, tomatoes, watermelons, etc. Because, let’s face it, tropical fruit and vegetables from Mexico are quite fabulous.

For heavier drugs, pastries seemed to be a source of inspiration for a while.

In 2015, Mexican soldiers confiscated packages of donuts covered not in powdered sugar, but instead “sprinkled with cocaine,” according to BBC Mundo.

On San Andrés Island in Colombia, a popular tourist destination, authorities found almost a kilo of cocaine hidden in a box of a dozen donuts.

Authorities have also encountered cakes stuffed with amphetamines, according to the BBC Mundo.

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