Thousands of tequila bottles containing liquid meth seized

By Duarte Mendonca and Issy Ronald, CNN

The Mexican navy has seized almost 10 tons of liquid methamphetamine hidden in 11,520 bottles of tequila intended for export, it said in a statement on Monday.

Authorities located 8,640 kilograms (9.5 US tons) of the drug using sniffer dogs and a chemical identification system, after inspecting a container housing 960 boxes and the tequila bottles at the port of Manzanillo — a city on the western coast of Mexico.

Samples were then taken to a navy laboratory for further analysis where they were confirmed to be meth, and the drugs were seized.

Already this year, the navy has seized and destroyed approximately 114 tons of meth, its statement noted.

Meth is a highly addictive stimulant that usually takes the form of a powder or crystals, although it is often dissolved into solutions to make it harder to detect during transport before it is made into crystals again for consumption.

In 2021, more than 32,000 Americans died from overdoses involving psychostimulants, primarily meth, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is not the first time that authorities have seized meth hidden in creative ways.

Australian border officials found $1 million worth of liquid meth inside snow globes in 2019.

Meanwhile, US border officials found about $266,000 worth of liquid meth inside the gas tank of a truck in 2020.

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