Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents intercepted methamphetamine hidden inside packages of meat at an Arizona checkpoint just days ago. 

According to a Nov. 19 CBP statement, agents found the drugs on Nov. 14 at an Interstate 19 checkpoint near Amado, Arizona when an X-ray scan caused agents to investigate a vehicle moving through the checkpoint. 

Four packages of methamphetamine, totaling more than 20 pounds, were found in frozen meat. An unnamed 32-year-old male Mexican national, who was driving the vehicle, was arrested and will face prosecution for narcotic smuggling.

“As much as smugglers try to get creative, our agents never let their guard down,” Tucson Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Henry Laxdal said. “Their hard work and dedication have prevented an extraordinary amount of drugs from ever reaching United States streets, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

CPB reported the finding the same day federal authorities announced the seizure of more than half a ton of methamphetamine in Colorado following an investigation into a Mexican drug trafficking organization in the state.

The investigation, which lasted two years, garnered evidence for the indictment of 15 people, 11 of whom have been arrested. The other four, including the group’s leader, are believed to be in Mexico. 

Most of the 1,115 pounds of methamphetamine, which equated to millions of doses of the drug, was found hidden in boxes of pear squash imported from Mexico.

Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge David Olesky said that the investigation shows ties “to elements in Mexico involving the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels.”

Both of those cartels are among the eight Latin American crime groups recently designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. 

CBP reported that October encounters with illegal immigrants were at a record low, and the month was the sixth in a row with zero releases into the interior of the United States. [our report]

Preliminary Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data showed that there were 30,561 total encounters nationwide, a 29 percent decrease from the previous October record low of 43,010 in 2012, and a 79 percent decrease from October 2024.

September of this year saw border crossings at levels 93 percent below the peak of illegal border crossings under the previous administration.

A crackdown on illegal immigration was one of the issues that President Donald Trump made central to his campaign. 

The immigration enforcement includes operations in cities in the interior of the United States. The Department of Homeland Security also announced on Nov. 19 that more than 250 arrests of illegal immigrants were made as part of Operation Charlotte’s Web.

DHS said on Nov. 15, when it announced the increased enforcement in Charlotte, “Sanctuary policies prevented nearly 1,400 detainers from being honored, putting criminal illegal aliens back on Charlotte’s streets.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.