Federal authorities at the Calexico Port of Entry have seized over 1,000 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value exceeding $20 million. The discovery was made inside the floorboards of a commercial truck and flatbed trailer.
The seizure marks the second-largest cocaine bust in the Southern District of California this year. The truck, which was carrying 269 bundles of rebar, was flagged during an X-ray inspection. A subsequent search, aided by a narcotics detection dog, revealed 366 packages of cocaine.
The truck's sole occupant, 44-year-old Mexican national Jose Manuel Lopez, was arrested and charged with importing cocaine into the United States. If convicted, Lopez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life.
Prosecutors described the seizure as a significant quantity of drugs, even by the standards of the district. The largest cocaine seizure in the Southern District of California this year occurred in May, when authorities recovered more than a ton of cocaine, valued at an estimated $45 million, in connection with a cross-border drug tunnel. Authorities noted that tunnel was likely used to traffic drugs, weapons, and people across the U.S.-Mexico border.