Mexican officials recently discovered nearly 10 tons of liquid meth hidden inside tequila bottles set for export, according to the Associated Press. The shipment, uncovered by members of the Mexican Navy, contained 11,520 bottles of the drug.
On Sunday, officials at the Manzanillo port encountered nearly 1,000 cardboard boxes filled with a brown liquid, assumed to be aged añejo tequila. A drug-detecting dog flagged the shipment, and samples of the liquid were tested at a Navy facility. Officials later confirmed the bottles’ contents were actually meth, according to CNN.
Liquid meth is a highly-concentrated form of methamphetamine, which can be extremely dangerous when ingested or injected. The AP notes that Mexico is a significant producer and exporter of methamphetamine. Border officials have also encountered liquid meth disguised as windshield washer fluid and smuggled in other discreet containers. This incident, though, appears to be the first documented case of the concentrated drug being smuggled in tequila bottles.
The Mexican Navy has intercepted some 114 tons of meth this year, per a statement from the Secretariat of the Navy.