Not for the first time, new Ford vehicles have been shipped from Mexico with drugs stashed inside.

Canadian authorities seized 180 kilograms of methamphetamines that had been concealed in the vehicles’ spare tires.

Ontario police recovered an estimated US $3.4 million worth of the drug, in what is apparently part of a larger international investigation.

The vehicles had been sent by rail and, according to police, there is no doubt the shipments were made by the Sinaloa Cartel.

Authorities were alerted when a Ford dealership in Ontario discovered beige-taped packages lining the inside of the tires.

Police found meth in the spare tires of nine automobiles in four Ford dealerships in the state of Ontario, while other discoveries were made in Quebec and New Brunswick.

Police speculated that drug traffickers probably did not intend for the vehicles to reach the dealerships with the drugs inside.

They said the vehicles came from a Ford manufacturing plant in Hermosillo, Sonora.

No arrests have been made in the case, though investigators said the Ford Motor Company is cooperating fully. Authorities added that the discovery represented “an important interruption in drug trafficking” because of soaring methamphetamine use in Canada.

According to one report, use of the drug in Canada increased 590% from 2010 to 2017.

Similar finds were made in 2017 in the United States. Marijuana had been hidden in the spare tire compartment of brand-new Fords shipped by rail from Mexico.

Source: Milenio (sp), Global News (en)