$1.3M worth of cocaine found in trailer’s fifth wheel at Otay Mesa

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Federal officials are crediting Operation Apollo with another significant drug bust at the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officers found more than $1 million worth of cocaine hidden within a flatbed tractor-trailer on Sept. 10 at the commercial crossing at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego.

The driver of the truck was only described as a 34-year-old man with a valid border crossing card holder.

During a secondary inspection, a drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to the tractor-trailer’s fifth wheel, where an X-ray revealed anomalies, CBP said.

CBP officers said they found 65 packages containing 167 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.3 million.

Rosa E. Hernandez, the port director for the Area Port of Otay Mesa, said attempted smuggling was done “ingeniously.”

“This significant interdiction underscores the relentless efforts and vigilance of our officers in protecting our communities from the scourge of illegal narcotics,” she said in a statement.

Operation Apollo is a counter-fentanyl effort that began last October in California, expanded to Arizona on April 10, and will soon expand to the El Paso area. It’s a collaboration between federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to share intelligence and boost resources to crack down on the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States.

At Otay Mesa, CBP officers seized the cocaine and the tractor-trailer, while the driver was turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation, CBP said.

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