$2 million worth of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bell peppers at Calexico Port of Entry

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico East commercial facility arrested a man suspected of smuggling cocaine in a shipment of bell peppers.

Agents say on May 20, a 45-year-old man driving an international truck attempted to enter the Calexico East cargo facility from Mexico with a shipment listed as green bell peppers.

A CBP officer referred the truck for further investigation where a canine alerted to the pallets of bell peppers loaded on the trailer.

Agents say the shipment was offloaded and discovered 100 cellophane-wrapped packages of cocaine intermixed with the boxes of bell peppers, estimated $2.1 million.

Officers took the driver, a Mexican citizen, into custody and turned him over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations agents for further investigation, agents say.

CBP seized the narcotics, the truck, and the trailer.