12,000 lbs of cannabis found in papaya shipment at Otay Mesa
CBP officers at Otay Mesa found more than 12,000 lbs (about 5,443 kg) of marijuana mixed into a papaya shipment on 22 February 2021, valued at about $27 million. The 50-year-old Mexican driver was handed to Homeland Security Investigations and the truck, trailer and drugs were seized.
🇺🇸 Otay Mesa port of entry, San Diego, California · California, United States
CBP officers at the commercial facility of the Otay Mesa port of entry seized more than 12,000 pounds of marijuana hidden in a papaya shipment on 22 February 2021.[1][2]At about 5:45 p.m. that Monday, a 50-year-old Mexican man drove in with a tractor-trailer manifested as fresh papayas.[1][2]
An X-ray scan showed anomalies in the load, and a narcotics detector dog alerted on the shipment.[1][2]Officers then found 873 wrapped packages of marijuana mixed among the papayas, a haul CBP valued at about $27 million.[1][2]
The driver was handed to Homeland Security Investigations agents and taken to the Metropolitan Correction Center in San Diego, while CBP seized the truck, trailer and drugs.[1][2]Acting Director of Field Operations Anne Maricich said the officers remain focused on stopping smugglers at the border.[1][2]
Case data
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A 70-year-old man was arrested and booked into jail after Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board officers and Snohomish County deputies searched a property near Monroe on 6 November 2026. Investigators seized approximately 2,700 live and dried marijuana plants from what they described as an unlicensed cannabis production operation.
HSI in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said two go-fast vessels carrying about 3,200 kilograms of marijuana and 3,188 kilograms of cocaine were intercepted under Operation Iron Current, a case against a Colombia-based trafficking organization. ICE put the street value of the haul at more than $80.5 million.
Indiana State Police seized nearly 1,000 grams of suspected marijuana alongside cocaine, fentanyl and guns in Operation Iron Scale raids on 3 November 2026 across Fort Wayne, Huntertown and Noblesville. Twelve people were arrested on felony conspiracy and narcotics-dealing charges, with no separate marijuana charges reported.
Waynesville police seized more than $56,000 worth of THC products said to have been sold or given to middle and high school children, arresting one person. Police said many items contained marijuana or THC extracts in youth-friendly packaging and warned parents about their appearance.
