46 pounds of liquid meth found hidden in car's gas tank at border

SAN DIEGO (KABC) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 46 pounds of liquid methamphetamine hidden in the gas tank of a car trying to enter the country from Mexico on Tuesday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Authorities said officers found the meth after a 38-year-old man driving a car with California license plates arrived at the Otay Mesa passenger port. The driver told a CBP officer that he was a U.S. citizen during an initial inspection, but he could not provide any documentation proving his identity.

The CBP officer recommended the car and the driver for more intensive inspection, authorities said, during which a human/narcotic detector dog alerted officers to the bottom of the car.

Officers looked under the car and saw liquid leaking from near the gas tank and crystallizing, according to authorities. They tested the liquid and determined it was methamphetamine.

The gas tank was removed, authorities said, and officers found two compartments, one with gasoline and the other with about 46 pounds of liquid methamphetamine.

CPB officers seized the car and the drugs, according to authorities, and they turned the driver over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center and will face charges from the U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego.

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u.s.-mexico border, drug war, california news

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