SAN DIEGO – 

U.S. authorities seized nearly $3 million worth of methamphetamine hidden in a shipment of onions after inspecting a cargo truck at a federal facility in San Diego, officials announced Friday.

A K-9 unit of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP, for its acronym in English) alerted on Sunday about the shipment of onions in the trailer, in which there were about 1,200 small packages of methamphetamine, reported Friday the agency in a press release.

The 46-year-old driver, of Mexican nationality and whose name has not been revealed, was arrested for the alleged attempt to smuggle drugs at the commercial vehicle station of the Otay Mesa port of entry, authorities reported.

The methamphetamine packages — totaling more than 606 kilograms (1,336 pounds) — were round in shape with a white shell, intended to blend in with onions.

The value of the drug is estimated at $2.9 million on the street market.

“Not only was this a clever attempt that hadn’t been seen before to try to smuggle drugs in, but it also took a lot of time to package them up in these little wrappers designed to look like onions,” said Sidney Aki, director of CBP field operations in San Diego, in the press release. “While it is true that we have found narcotics in agricultural products on other occasions, it is not usual that we see this level of detail in the dissimulation.”