More than $10 million worth of cocaine and meth were found in vats of jalapeño paste in San Diego, California, last week, according to US Customs and Border Protection officers.
Officials found 349 packages in the shipment containing over 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine and over 500 pounds of cocaine, according to a press release.
The drugs were found in a commercial tractor-trailer at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility, which was driven by a 28-year-old man.
Although the driver had a valid border crossing card, the vehicle and shipment of jalapeño paste were referred for further examination.
A K-9 inspection unit alerted Customs and Border Protection officials to the suspicious shipment on Wednesday around 10.30am.
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Otay Mesa Port Director Rosa Hernandez said: “Our K-9 teams are an invaluable component of our counter-narcotics operations, providing reliable and unequalled mobile detection capability.
“By implementing local operations under Operational Apollo and CBP’s Strategy to Combat Fentanyl and other Synthetic Drugs, we will continue to secure communities and stifle the growth of transnational criminal organizations, one seizure after another.”
After inspecting the jalapeño paste vats, the truck driver was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations, officials said.
This is not the first time suspicious drug activity has occurred at the California border.
Last month, more than 14,000 pounds of narcotics were seized by San Diego’s Customs and Border Protection office at California’s land ports of entry.
There has also been a series of drug busts in San Diego this month, after the US Coast Guard seized more than $239 million worth of cocaine in six different smuggling incidents.
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