Border Patrol Arrest Man Smuggling 400 Pounds of Cocaine in Boxes of Cucumbers 

California border patrol officers arrested a Mexican man earlier this month after he was caught with over 400 pounds of cocaine hiding in a box of cucumbers at the Otay Mesa Port, authorities reported. 

The 33-year-old unidentified suspect was taken into custody on Sept. 15 after Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officers found the hidden narcotics in packages of cucumbers. 

The man was reportedly driving a tractor-trailer, and upon a second inspection, officers discovered 146 packages of cocaine in the shipment of cucumbers. The drugs weighed in at 401.68 pounds, the press release said. 

“The impact our CBP officers have on our agency and the wider community goes far beyond the call of duty,” Rosa Hernandez, Otay Mesa Port Director, said in the news release. "This seizure is a true testament of the diligent work ethic our officers possess."

The cucumber seizure came just three days after CPD discovered 22 five-gallon buckets of an “unknown substance.” The press release said the substance was tested and identified as liquid methamphetamine — weighing over 660 pounds. 

The liquid meth was smuggled in on another tractor-trailer driven by an unidentified 25-year-old Mexican citizen on Sept. 12. The drug bust resulted in over five million dollars worth of seized meth and cocaine. 

The CBP has seized over 551,000 pounds of illegal drugs in 2023 thus far. The agency recovered around 656,000 pounds in 2022 and 913,000 in 2021.