The Narco Blog

Nearly 1,600 Pounds of Meth Hidden in Tomatillos and Jalapeños: CBP Seizes $2.5 Million Load at Otay Mesa, San Diego’s Cargo Crossing From Tijuana — and Links It to a Cartel

By The Narco Blog · October 17, 2026 · Updated October 17, 2026

Stacked evidence boxes and dozens of wrapped packages lined up on a concrete floor beside crates of green tomatillos and red and green chiles at a CBP facility — Packages of methamphetamine displayed beside crates of tomatillos and chiles. KTLA identifies the CBP photo as showing the nearly 1,600-pound Otay Mesa tomatillo seizure. Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, via KTLA.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa commercial crossing in San Diego, across from Tijuana, found nearly 1,600 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a truckload of tomatillos and jalapeños this week, KTLA reported on Oct. 16, 2026. CBP put the street value at about $2.5 million, and its San Diego field director, Sidney Aki, said the load was linked to a drug cartel, according to KTLA. The station did not say which cartel.

What officers found

Canal 44, citing CBP, reported that the seizure happened on Oct. 14 and totaled 297 packages weighing more than 724 kilograms (about 1,596 pounds), hidden among boxes of tomatillos and jalapeños in a cargo truck that was sent for an additional inspection. Noticias SD, which put the haul at “more than 1,500 pounds,” reported that the truck’s import papers listed chiles and tomatillos and that Aki said an officer flagged it for secondary inspection, where the drugs turned up among the produce boxes.

None of the three outlets named the driver or said whether anyone was arrested or charged. Canal 44 noted that CBP did not say what led officers to pick the truck.

A large green crate heaped with tomatillos next to a Homeland Security evidence box at the Otay Mesa cargo facility — Tomatillos from the shipment beside a Homeland Security evidence box at the Otay Mesa cargo crossing. Photo: Noticias SD.

What CBP said

“These dangerous criminal networks will stop at nothing to increase their profits,” Aki said, as quoted by KTLA. The seizure was presented as federal agencies reviewed San Diego-area results from fiscal year 2026, which ended Sept. 30. Noticias SD reported that about 2,800 trucks cross at Otay Mesa every day and that roughly 110,000 pounds of narcotics were seized there over the past year. Daniel Jonas, director of CBP’s San Diego Air and Marine Branch, told reporters that “cartels are adapting their smuggling tactics, including attempts to exploit the maritime domain,” KTLA reported.

For crossing and safety information, see our Tijuana–San Diego guide.

Sources

KTLA: “1,600 pounds of meth found in shipment of tomatillos at California border, officials say,” by John Ross Ferrara (Oct. 16, 2026); syndicated copy on Yahoo News
Noticias SD: “Descubren más de mil 500 libras ocultas en cajas de verduras en Otay Mesa,” by Claudia Orozco (Oct. 16, 2026)
Canal 44: “Decomiso en la frontera: hallan metanfetamina escondida en transporte de carga en Otay” (Oct. 2026)
Photos: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (public domain), via KTLA; Noticias SD, via noticiassd.com.

Reported Oct. 17, 2026, from KTLA, Noticias SD and Canal 44. CBP’s own release could not be reached. The outlets give slightly different weights (from “more than 1,500” to “nearly 1,600” pounds), and none reported an arrest, charges or the name of the cartel CBP linked to the load.