Last week, Atlanta police seized almost 6,000 pounds of weed -- worth an estimated $9 million -- after pinning down a cargo truck. It turns out that another huge marijuana seizure occurred around the same time in the border town of Pharr, Texas, located at the very bottom of the tip of the state. Upon stopping and searching a tractor trailer at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility, authorities discovered 3,000 pounds of weed, reportedly worth around $600,000, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
What's extraordinary about this case is the means by which the drugs were transported. The truck in question had been carrying a large shipment of fresh watermelons, and the individual packages containing the weed -- 390 in total -- were made to look like the rest of the large green fruits.
"Smugglers continue to be creative as they attempt to introduce illegal narcotics into our country," said Efrain Solis Jr., director of the Pharr point of entry.
Looking up close, the packages in question are obviously not fruits of the earth. Still, if all the weed-melons were dispersed evenly, it could have been a decent ploy. Once the traffickers were met with Homeland Security's non-intrusive inspection system and then the canines, though, they didn't stand a chance.