Truck driver caught at border with $4M of cocaine hidden in load

Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Jan. 23, 2023:

Approximately $4.1 million worth of cocaine was found in a load of decorative stone at the Tacate Cargo Facility in San DiegoU.S. Customs and Border ProtectionA truck driver was arrested earlier this month when more than $4 million worth of cocaine was discovered in his load of decorative stone.

According to a statement from the agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at the Tecate Cargo Facility in San Diego found the cocaine on Jan.11. Officers encountered a 36-year-old driver of a tractor-trailer with a shipment manifested as decorative stone. During the inspection, a CBP officer referred the driver and the tractor-trailer for a more intensive examination.

During the exam, CBP officers randomly offloaded one of the commodities within the trailer and observed an anomaly on one of the stones. A CBP K-9 team screened the shipment and received a positive alert from the detector dog.

Officers discovered 57 cellophane-wrapped packages of cocaine. The packages of cocaine were concealed within a plaster-like material designed to appear like stones. CBP officers extracted approximately 256 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated street value of about $4.1 million.

CBP officers seized the narcotics and the tractor-trailer.

The driver was detained for the alleged narcotics smuggling attempt. CBP officers turned the driver, a Mexican citizen, over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.