This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we’re taking a look at the strangest smuggling attempts, where criminals have gotten creative with hiding drugs in everyday foods. From potatoes to avocados, here’s a roundup of how agricultural products are being used to ship drugs across borders—and how authorities keep unearthing these schemes.
Spuds and Speed in the Caribbean
In a wild twist on food deliveries, authorities in Colombia recently uncovered nearly a ton of cocaine hidden in what looked like bags of cassava and potatoes. The drug was crafted into shapes mimicking the local produce, a clever disguise meant to sneak past inspectors and ship from the Port of Cartagena to Spain. Over 50 officers worked tirelessly to uncover the shipment, pulling apart bags and checking each “potato” until they confirmed the presence of narcotics.
Police suspect this was one of the most innovative drug schemes in years. Anti-Narcotics Police noted the cleverness of molding the cocaine into croquettes and cassava, fooling most but not all. A slight misstep—the packaging had no expiration date—sparked enough suspicion for a deeper inspection. The result? One less shipment on the drug market.
Melon Meth Madness at the US Border
On the US-Mexico border, smugglers tried to blend in a different way: by hiding $5 million worth of methamphetamine among watermelons. The drugs were carefully wrapped and painted to match the iconic green shade of the fruit, and mixed in with actual watermelons to throw off inspectors. But border agents at Otay Mesa in California weren’t fooled. With the help of X-rays and a little sniffing from their K-9 units, officers found 1,220 meth-laced packages hidden among the fruit.
Methamphetamine, known as a powerful stimulant, has recently been smuggled through produce like bananas, avocados, and even Gouda cheese, keeping border agents on their toes. Just days earlier, the same crossing intercepted nearly 300 kg of meth packed into a celery shipment. In these recent attempts alone, CBP reported a street value of nearly $6 million in seized drugs.
Tomatillos with a Twist
Continuing with the meth theme, CBP officers at Otay Mesa uncovered another shocking stash in August—378 pounds of methamphetamine hidden among fresh tomatillos. The driver, a 35-year-old with a border crossing card, was caught when irregularities appeared during the cargo inspection. Officers soon uncovered 50 meth packages buried among the popular green fruits used in salsa verde.
This haul, valued at nearly half a million dollars, reflects the growing creativity among smugglers to utilize produce, often hiding drugs in bulk shipments of various vegetables and fruits. And with tomatillos now added to the list of smuggling vehicles, it seems any produce could be next!
Guac and Cocaine
As if watermelons and tomatillos weren’t enough, cocaine found its way into an avocado shipment in Colombia. In March, Colombian authorities seized 1.7 tons of cocaine hidden among avocados bound for Portugal. The shipment, intercepted at the Port of Santa Marta, was cleverly hidden within the spiky green fruit. According to Colombia’s police director, this bust is just a small part of the country’s massive cocaine output, which supplies 70 to 80% of the global market.
Colombian officials estimate the country produces a staggering $400 million in cocaine each week. And with drugs now being disguised in everything from avocados to potatoes, these agricultural covers have kept drug enforcement agencies worldwide on their toes.
This week’s stories show that when it comes to drug trafficking, creativity and freshness know no bounds. From spuds to salsas, smugglers will use anything to hide illicit substances. So, next time you’re shopping for produce, remember that behind every fruit and vegetable, there might be a story even stranger than fiction.
