A Mexican Army expert shows crystal meth paste at a clandestine laboratory near la Rumorosa town in Tecate, Baja California state, Mexico on August 28, 2018. - According to the Army, the lab can produce up to 200 kilograms of the crystal meth daily. On the same operation the Army destroyed two marihuana plantations with a total surface area of 19,000 square meters. (Photo by Guillermo Arias / AFP) (Photo credit should read GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)
San Diego, California – A midday border crossing turned into a federal drug bust last Thursday after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers used advanced scanning technology to uncover more than 120 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside an SUV.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed Friday, the incident unfolded when 33-year-old Robert Anthony Rodriguez Jr., a U.S. citizen, arrived at the San Ysidro Port of Entry driving a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. Rodriguez told CBP officials he lived in Los Angeles and had spent several days in Tijuana “visiting girlfriends” and getting vehicle repairs.
Something in that explanation—or perhaps something about the car itself—prompted officers to refer Rodriguez for a secondary inspection. His SUV was directed through a Z-portal, a specialized X-ray scanner that produces multi-angle images of vehicles.
An officer reviewing the scan reportedly noticed irregularities in the rear panels of the vehicle. A drug-sniffing dog was brought in, and the canine quickly alerted to possible contraband. A detailed search followed, uncovering 108 packages wrapped and concealed in the vehicle’s structure. The total haul: 56 kilograms, or about 123.5 pounds, of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
Rodriguez was taken into custody and charged with importation of a controlled substance. He allegedly told officers he had no knowledge of the drugs in his car and refused to provide the names of the individuals he claimed to have visited in Mexico. He is currently awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 3 in U.S. District Court in San Diego.
The seizure is part of a broader trend along the Southwest border, where non-intrusive inspection technologies—like the Z-portal—are being increasingly deployed to combat smuggling efforts. These tools allow officers to scan vehicles with speed and precision, identifying hidden compartments that may not be visible during a manual inspection.
Customs officials say the use of X-ray and imaging technology has become essential in curbing the flow of narcotics into the U.S., especially as traffickers develop more sophisticated concealment methods. The San Ysidro crossing, one of the busiest land ports in the Western Hemisphere, has become a critical checkpoint in that effort.
While the facts of the case are still unfolding, the use of advanced technology—and the sheer size of the methamphetamine load—show just how large and complex drug trafficking along the U.S.–Mexico border can be.
