Cocaine found in California border truck
Federal officers uncovered more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine concealed beneath floorboards on a commercial truck’s attached flatbed trailer at California’s Calexico Port of Entry. The truck arrived from Mexicali, Mexico, and the recovered narcotics were worth more than $20 million.
The driver, Jose Manuel Lopez Lopez, was the truck’s only occupant, according to federal prosecutors. Lopez, 44, entered the United States from Mexicali, Mexico.
Officers arrested him after finding 366 packages within the trailer. The cocaine weighed 1,002.13 pounds, or 454.56 kilograms. Inspectors found drugs beneath the trailer floor after Customs and Border Protection officers X-rayed the attached flatbed during the border inspection.
The scan showed anomalies in its wooden floorboards. A drug-sniffing dog then alerted officers to the equipment. Prosecutors described the amount as a tremendous amount of drugs, even by the standards of this district.
The recovery marked the Southern District of California’s second-largest cocaine seizure during 2026. Lopez pleaded not guilty during his federal arraignment July 28. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lupe Rodriguez Jr. scheduled his detention hearing for Aug. 3 at 10 a.m.
Criminal organizations can use legitimate commercial equipment and ordinary cargo to conceal high-value contraband. Freight professionals should understand how a routine-looking shipment can carry risks beyond theft or fraud.
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The California Homeland Security Task Force investigated and prosecuted the matter through Operation Take Back America. They charged Lopez with importing cocaine into the United States.
The charge falls under Title 21, U.S. Code, Sections 952 and 960. It carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years. A conviction could bring a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The federal charge remains an accusation. Lopez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Benjamin and Lawrence Casper.
Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration handled the investigative work.
The case number is 26-mj-08705.
Jose Manuel Lopez Lopez is facing serious charges. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting his detention hearing.
