Border protection officers in Texas discovered nearly $12 million worth of cocaine in a shipment labeled "baby wipes" last week, marking the agency’s largest bust of the drug in nearly two decades, officials said.
The seizure happened Friday at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge near Laredo when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer referred a 2016 Stoughton trailer for a secondary inspection, CBP said in a news release on Monday.
The trailer’s manifest said it was hauling baby wipes, but a canine and non-intrusive inspection found a trove of illicit narcotics — 1,935 packages of cocaine, CBP said.
Randy Howe, director of field operations for the CBP’s Laredo field office, called it a "colossal, record-setting seizure."
The 1,532.65 pounds of cocaine had an estimated street value of $11,818,400.
"This seizure is a prime example of border security management and how it helps prevent dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities," said Port Director Alberto Flores, Laredo Port of Entry.
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CBP officers seized the cocaine, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations special agents are investigating the seizure, the release said.