Mexico seizes thousands of tequila bottles filled with liquid meth at port

MEXICO CITY —  Mexican navy inspectors have intercepted 11,520 tequila bottles bound for export that actually contained nearly 10 tons of concentrated liquid methamphetamine, 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 about 19,000 pounds of meth.

Photos of the seizure show a sniffer 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 in the video.

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 extremely dangerous.

Mexico has become a major producer of meth, and drug smugglers frequently are stopped at the border when liquid meth is found in their windshield washer fluid or other containers in their cars.

The liquid meth is usually recovered by the smugglers and taken to specialized facilities where the water is extracted and the drug is returned to its usually crystal form.