The boxes said 'printing ink,' but 65 pounds of liquid meth were headed to Fort Worth

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials seized more than 65 pounds of liquid meth this week that was destined for Fort Worth.

The shipment containing two packages sent from China to Memphis, and then to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, was labeled "printing ink," according to a Customs and Border Protection news release.

But the ploy didn't work, thanks to a package-sniffing dog.

When the 100 unmarked bottles arrived at DFW, the canine inspector alerted officers, indicating the presence of narcotics. Officers tested the clear liquid, revealing it had properties of methamphetamine.

The two boxes containing the bottles were shipped and manifested as printing ink with a declared value of $90, but officers estimated the value of the liquid meth to be $297,000, according to the release.

The agency has seen a steady increase in meth seizures over the past five years. The agency's officers nabbed 14,131 pounds of meth coming into U.S. ports in FY 2012, according to the news release . But in FY 2017, CPB seized 44,065 pounds of the drug.

That's a 212 percent increase.

Agents are still investigating the matter.

The agency also busted an Arizona man trying to smuggle $1.2 million in marijuana in a recreational vehicle into the port of Lukeville in Arizona on Dec. 30, and nabbed more than two tons of cocaine from a smuggler in a speedboat near Miami on Dec. 21.

Matthew Martinez: 817-390-7667; @MCTinez817

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 12:31 PM with the headline "The boxes said 'printing ink,' but 65 pounds of liquid meth were headed to Fort Worth."