McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized over $20 million worth of methamphetamine that was being smuggled in bottled mineral water from Mexico at a South Texas port of entry, the agency says.

The latest shipment of meth was confiscated March 5 at the Roma International Bridge in rural Starr County located on the western edge of the Rio Grande Valley, CPB said Monday.

The 18-wheeler had been sent to secondary inspection, which included scanning by non-intrusive inspection equipment and screening by a canine team.

Officers found over 1,600 bottles of mineral water containing 2,268 pounds of liquid methamphetamine inside the cargo, CBP says.

The narcotics have an estimated street value of $20.2 million.

“This huge methamphetamine seizure illustrates the phenomenal work our CBP officers do every day to keep our borders secure,” Roma Port Director Andres Guerra said. “Our officers utilized their inspection skills, canines and technology to zero-in on and take down this significant methamphetamine load.” 

The Roma International Bridge is where CBP officers on Jan. 31 seized $1.6 million pounds of cocaine they say was hidden in a tractor-trailer crossing from Ciudad Manuel Alemán, Mexico, into Roma, Texas. The drugs were hidden in a load of soft drinks and included 120 pounds of cocaine in 50 hidden packages.

Other recent large shipment seizures of single-incident loads of cocaine and meth by CBP officers in South Texas include:

• Jan. 24: $8.1 million in methamphetamine seized from a Volvo at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo. The car had been hauling industrial machinery.
• Jan. 24: $1.2 million or 91 pounds of cocaine found in a car at the Brownsville International Bridge.
• Jan. 24: Almost 16 pounds of cocaine worth $211,000 was confiscated from a car entering the Gateway International Bridge from Matamoros, Mexico, into Brownsville, Texas.
• Feb. 4: $19.8 million in methamphetamine and $144,500 in heroin as found concealed in a shipment of cucumbers and jalapenos officers confiscated at the Pharr International Bridge. The drugs included 8,206 packages of meth weighing over 2,00 pounds, and 26 packages of heroin weighing 7.5 pounds that were inside a tractor trailer selected for non-intrusive inspection, CBP says.
• Feb. 6: $1.4 million in cocaine found inside a tanker truck trying to cross the Camino Real International Bridge (Bridge II) in Eagle Pass, Texas. CBP says they confiscated 108 pounds of the drug.
• Feb. 7: $1 million in cocaine totaling 82 pounds found hidden in a car at the Pharr International Bridge. That’s 35 packages of drugs.
• Feb. 7: 25 pounds of cocaine found in one vehicle at the Anzalduas International Bridge
• Feb. 7: Almost $500,000 in cocaine was seized from one SUV at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in Laredo, totaling 37 pounds of drugs.
• Feb. 8: 74 pounds of cocaine in an SUV at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge.
• Feb. 15: 46 pounds of cocaine seized from a vehicle at the Anzalduas International Bridge in Mission, Texas. And 30 pounds of cocaine seized at the nearby McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. The two arrests have a combined street value of over $1 million.
• Feb. 20: 50 pounds of cocaine seized from a vehicle at the Progreso Port of Entry, which leads from Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, into Progreso, Texas.
• March 8: 470 pounds of cocaine in 150 packages was seized from a truck at the Pharr International Bridge, which officers say was hidden inside a shipment of plastic wrap from Mexico.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.