CALEXICO – A trucker has been charged with importing more than half a ton of cocaine.
Federal law enforcement officers seized more than half a ton of cocaine worth more than $20 million hidden in the floorboards of a commercial truck and attached flatbed trailer at the Calexico Port of Entry, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
It was the second-largest cocaine seizure in 2026 in the Southern District of California. The largest seizure was in May when more than a ton of cocaine estimated to be worth $45 million was discovered in connection with a subterranean cross-border tunnel, the release stated.
In the most recent case, the driver and only occupant of the truck, Jose Manuel Lopez Lopez, was arrested and charged with illegally importing cocaine into the United States. Conviction carries a minimum sentence of 10 years with a maximum of life in prison.
The amount of cocaine seized is considered “a tremendous amount of drugs, even by the standards of this district,” according to the government’s motion to detain the defendant. Lopez entered a not-guilty plea at his arraignment in federal court yesterday. A detention hearing is scheduled for August 3 at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lupe Rodriguez Jr.
In addition to the hidden cocaine, the trailer was loaded with 269 bundles of rebar . Customs and Border Protection officers, working with agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, X-rayed the trailer and observed anomalies in the floorboards. A drug-sniffing dog alerted to the trailer. After unloading the rebar, officers unscrewed the planks from the wooden floor of the trailer and discovered they were stuffed with drugs. In total, 366 packages of cocaine weighing 1002.13 pounds (454.56 kilograms) were removed from the trailer.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
