Faima Bakar
When ordinary folks see pumpkins, they think of Halloween or hearty pumpkin soup. But not the US Customs and Border protection, as they've seen enough contraband to know when something looks a bit fishy - and festive gourd is no exception.
And their instincts were right recently as they ended up seizing four pumpkins which contained 44 pounds of liquid meth, expertly packed into 136 condoms.
The methamphetamine was discovered by officers while inspecting a vehicle in the southern border of Texas on Tuesday (11 October).
Customs and Border Protection officers at the Eagle Pass International Bridge found the narcotics while searching an SUV coming in from Mexico.
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Four pumpkins might not sound like much, but the worth of the loot amounted to a whopping $402,196 (£358,837).
They said in a statement that creative findings like this weren't totally unique in their line of work.
Elizabeth Garduno, the acting port director at Eagle Pass, said in a statement: “Our frontline CBP officers have seen just about everything and this Tuesday was no exception as they encountered liquid methamphetamine hidden within pumpkins."
She added that while they had seen 'pretty much everything', stashing drugs inside a vegetable in the way that it was done, was pretty novel.
She added: "Officers utilised their training, experience, interviewing skills and uncovered a rather novel narcotics smuggling method in the process."
The Maverick County Sheriff’s Office have since apprehended the driver and the passenger and are questioning them over the illegal goods.
The Texan border isn't the only place where food-based drug smuggling has taken place though, as earlier this year, Arizona CBP seized tons of narcotics concealed inside tamales.
They wrote on Twitter: "CBP officers at the Nogales point of entry discovered approximately 2,100 fentanyl pills concealed inside tamales in an ice chest. Each tamale contained a baggie of blue pills hidden inside.
"Excellent work by officers and K9 teams maintaining a high level of vigilance."
Meanwhile, police in Australia have been dealing with similar issues as they recently found the largest-ever seizure of meth.
They found a stash of methamphetamine which equates to an astonishing 1.8 metric tons (2 US tons).
It blew the previous record, where a meth haul of 1.6 metric tons (1.8 US tons) was found in Melbourne after being transported from Bangkok in April 2019. The drugs were hidden in speakers and led to three people being charged with drug offences.
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