CALEXICO, CALIF.—U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a 58-year-old male yesterday after intercepting narcotics valued at $3.2 million concealed in a false compartment hidden in the cargo truck he was driving.
The incident occurred on Thursday, August 1st, at about 2:15 p.m., when officers encountered a 2000 Volvo tractor and empty trailer that entered the Calexico East cargo facility. A CBP officer conducting inspections referred the tractor and trailer to the secondary dock area for further examination.
While conducting an intensive inspection of the conveyance, CBP officers utilized the port's imaging system and detected anomalies in the trailer's structure. Officers subsequently removed 77 packages of cocaine and 34 packages of methamphetamine hidden inside a specially-built compartment under the floor of the trailer.
Weights of the cocaine and methamphetamine were 198 pounds and 67 pounds, respectively, totaling a combined seizure weight of 265 pounds.
The driver, a Mexican citizen and resident of Mexicali, Baja California, was turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigation agents for further processing. The subject was later transported to the Imperial County Jail.
CBP placed an immigration hold on the Mexican citizen to initiate removal from the United States at the conclusion of his criminal proceedings.
CBP seized the narcotics and conveyance.