Methamphetamine found inside cans of cheese sauce, jalapenos

Add cans of jalapeno peppers and cheese sauce to the places where smugglers have tried to hide drugs, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Federal agents Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old Mexican citizen who lives in Oxnard on suspicion of trying to smuggle methamphetamine into the U.S. inside two cans of cheese sauce and one of jalapenos.

The meth, weighing seven pounds, is worth an estimated $140,000, officials said. The cans and the driver's 1999 Toyota Solara were seized at the San Ysidro border crossing.

The driver had told agents that he was returning to the U.S. after grocery shopping in Mexico. But the cans seemed too heavy and were screened by an X-ray machine, leading to the discovery, officials said.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Cans of cheese sauce and jalapenos containing packages of methamphetamine.

Credit: U.S. Department of Homeland Security