Mexico finds tons of liquid meth in tequila bottles at port

Mexican Navy inspectors intercepted 11,520 tequila bottles bound for export that actually contained nearly 10 tons of concentrated liquid meth, the Navy said Monday.

The discovery was made over the weekend at the Pacific coast seaport of Manzanillo, the Navy said. It said the bottles contained approximately 8,640 kilograms (about 19,000 pounds) of meth.

Photos of the seizure show a dog alerting inspectors to cardboard boxes of glass bottles full of a brownish liquid, consistent with the color of “añejo,” or aged tequila. The labels on the bottles were not visible.

Mexico is the world’s only producer of authentic tequila. While there have not been any reported instances of such bottles reaching consumers, ingesting the mixture would be immensely dangerous.

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.