“Socalj” for Borderland Beat
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A K9 sniffer dog alerted inspectors to a load of over 11,500 bottles of tequila bound for export. Those bottles contained approximately 8,640 kilograms (about 19,000 pounds) of liquid meth. The discovery was made over the weekend at the Pacific coast seaport of Manzanillo, the Mexican Navy said.
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In photos released by SEMAR and the Government of Mexico, the tequila bottle labels are blurred out. However, the open boxes in the background display Don Chicho Tequila. The bottles shown are their Tequila Reposado, which retails for around $80 in the US for the 750-mL bottle. Reposado is a type of tequila that is aged for up to 1 year and matches the golden color of the liquid in the bottles.
It is likely the tequila company is not involved either directly or indirectly in the trafficking attempt. Reposado, Anejo, and Silver tequilas from Don Chicho are available on a few online retailer sites. The www.donchichotequila.com website states “WEBSITE COMING SOON!!!” and was registered via GoDaddy in 2018. Mexico is the world’s only producer of authentic tequila. There have not been any reported instances of such bottles reaching consumers.
Mexico has become a major producer of meth, and drug smugglers frequently are stopped at the border with liquid meth in their windshield washer fluid or other containers in their cars. The liquid meth is usually recovered by smugglers and taken to specialized facilities where the water is extracted and the drug is then returned to its crystal form. During this year, the Secretary of the Navy, through the Mexican Navy, seized and destroyed approximately 114.3 tons of methamphetamine.