Federal authorities seized a massive cocaine shipment valued at over $20 million hidden beneath the wooden floorboards of a commercial truck and flatbed trailer at the Calexico Port of Entry, which connects California and Mexico.

Officials discovered 366 packages of cocaine weighing more than 1,000 pounds (approximately 454 kilograms) after a narcotics detection dog alerted officers to the trailer. The truck was carrying 269 bundles of rebar, which officers unloaded before removing the floorboards to uncover the drugs.

The Department of Justice described the seizure as the second-largest cocaine bust in the Southern District of California this year. The only larger seizure occurred in May, when authorities found over a ton of cocaine worth an estimated $45 million linked to a cross-border drug tunnel between Tijuana and San Diego.

Authorities estimate the street value of the cocaine seized at Calexico exceeds $20 million. The operation is part of ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

"A tremendous amount of drugs, even by the standards of this district," officials remarked regarding the bust.

Sources