
$90.8 million worth of liquid methamphetamine was seized from the fuel tank of a tractor trailer over the weekend.
The incident occurred on Saturday, May 19th in Linden, North Carolina.
According to ABC 7, the 2009 Peterbilt was being operated by 49-year-old Raul Topete Arreola and 48-year-old Aquileo Perez Pineda when it was pulled over near the 100 block of Will Lucas Road by a member of the Harnett County Police Department.
Though it is unclear what initially prompted the officer to pull the big rig over, 120 gallons of liquid meth were discovered inside the driver’s side fuel tank, an amount that could be converted into more than 1,000 pounds of crystal meth, and is considered to have a street value of nearly $91 million.
Both Arreola and Pineda have been taken into custody and are each being charged with three counts of trafficking methamphetamine. They are both currently being held on $3 million bond.
An immigration detainer has already been issued for Pineda, meaning he will be held for up to 48 hours after his technical “release” to allow for Immigrations and Customs enforcement to decide whether he should be taken into custody for “removal purposes,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
ICE is still investigating the immigration status of Arreola.