Border agents uncover $20M cocaine stash hidden beneath truck floorboards in massive bust
•Federal agents discovered over 1,000 pounds of cocaine hidden in a commercial truck at the Calexico Port of Entry.
•The seized cocaine has an estimated street value of over $20 million, marking one of the largest drug busts in Southern California this year.
•Jose Manuel Lopez, the truck's driver, was arrested and faces significant prison time if convicted.
المصدر: Fox News | Source: Fox NewsFederal authorities uncovered more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine hidden beneath the floorboards of a commercial truck entering the U.S. from Mexico, marking one of the largest drug busts in Southern California this year.
The Department of Justice said the half-ton of cocaine was discovered inside the floorboards of a commercial truck and flatbed trailer at the Calexico Port of Entry connecting California and Mexico. Authorities estimate the cocaine has a street value exceeding $20 million.
The seizure marks the second-largest cocaine bust in the Southern District of California this year, according to federal prosecutors.
Jose Manuel Lopez, 44, a Mexican national and the truck's sole occupant, 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.
In court filings seeking to keep Lopez in custody, prosecutors described the seizure as "a tremendous amount of drugs, even by the standards of this district."
SINALOA CARTEL BOSS 'EL MAYO' SENTENCED TO LIFE, ORDERED TO PAY $15B IN DRUG TRAFFICKING PROFITS
The only larger cocaine seizure in the Southern District of California this year came in May, when authorities uncovered more than a ton of cocaine worth an estimated $45 million in connection with a cross-border drug tunnel.
Officials said the trailer was carrying 269 bundles of rebar when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, working alongside Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, detected anomalies during an X-ray inspection.
After a narcotics detection dog alerted to the trailer, officers unloaded the rebar and removed the wooden floorboards, where they discovered 366 packages of cocaine weighing more than 1,000 pounds, or approximately 454 kilograms, prosecutors said.
Lopez pleaded not guilty during his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday. A detention hearing is scheduled for Aug. 3.
→Federal agents discovered over 1,000 pounds of cocaine hidden in a commercial truck at the Calexico Port of Entry.
→The seized cocaine has an estimated street value of over $20 million, marking one of the largest drug busts in Southern California this year.
ملاحظة تحريرية | Editorial Note: نُشر هذا المقال في الأصل بواسطة Fox News. خبر (Khabr) هي منصة إعلامية أردنية مرخّصة تعمل بالذكاء الاصطناعي. نضيف قيمة تحريرية من خلال: تحليل ذكي للأخبار، ملخصات تلقائية، رواية صوتية بالذكاء الاصطناعي، ترجمة متعددة اللغات، وتدقيق الحقائق. هدفنا جعل الأخبار أكثر وضوحاً وسهولةً للقارئ العربي.
This article was originally published by Fox News. Khabr is a licensed Jordanian AI-powered news platform (Registration #82086). We add editorial value through: AI-powered news analysis, automated summaries, AI audio narration, multi-language translation (Arabic, English, French, Turkish), and AI fact-checking. Our mission is to make news more accessible and understandable for Arabic-speaking audiences worldwide.
