Hundreds of packages of narcotics, worth more than $10 million, were found in a shipment of jalapeño paste near the U.S.—Mexico border in San Diego last week, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
Officers seized 349 packages containing over 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 500 pounds of cocaine hidden in large vats of jalapeño paste at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility on Dec. 13, a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection says.
A 28-year-old man with a valid border crossing card was driving the shipment of narcotics and jalapeño paste in a commercial tractor-trailer, border officials said.
A K-9 inspection unit alerted officers to more closely inspect the jalapeño paste about 10:40 a.m. PST on Wednesday.
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“Our K-9 teams are an invaluable component of our counter-narcotics operations, providing a reliable and unequalled mobile detection capability,” said Rosa Hernandez, Otay Mesa Port Director.
The truck driver was taken to Homeland Security Investigations for further processing, CBP said. The estimated street value of the narcotics total $10,430,145, CBP said.
Just last month, the San Diego Field Office for U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 14,000 pounds of narcotics at California's land ports of entry.
This narcotics-in-jalapeño-paste seizure was just one of many successful drug busts in the border town recently, which include the U.S. Coast Guard stopping six different smuggling events, totaling more than $239 million worth of cocaine apprehended.
