Trucker arrested in record-breaking drug bust at California-Mexico border

From KTLA5:

A trucker from Mexico was arrested after trying to smuggle record-breaking amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl into the U.S., federal prosecutors said.

More than 17,500 pounds (7,930 kilograms) of meth and 389 pounds (176 kilograms) of fentanyl were discovered last Thursday hidden inside a tractor-trailer at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The seizures are the largest of either drug in the U.S. for both 2020 and 2021, the statement said.

Carlos Martin Quintana-Arias, a Mexican citizen, faces federal drug charges. It wasn’t known Monday if he has an attorney.

The driver’s manifest indicated his truck contained auto body parts, but “anomalies” were detected in the trailer by both an X-ray machine and a drug-sniffing dog, according to the statement.