Cocaine worth 1,002 lbs found hidden in rebar truck at California border

US federal officers seized more than 1,000 pounds (1,002.13 lbs) of cocaine hidden in a truck carrying 269 bundles of rebar at California's Calexico border crossing.

CBP officers discovered the drugs during an X-ray scan, which revealed anomalies in the trailer's wooden floorboards; a drug-sniffing dog also alerted to the vehicle.

The driver, 44-year-old Jose Manuel Lopez Lopez, was arrested and charged with illegally importing cocaine into the United States.

The seizure, valued at over $20 million, is the second-largest cocaine bust in the Southern District of California in 2026, following a larger tunnel seizure near Otay Mesa in May.

The drugs were concealed beneath the trailer floor, requiring officers to unload the rebar and remove planks to recover 366 packages of cocaine, weighing 454.56 kilograms.