Federal Authorities Seize More Than $20 Million Worth of Cocaine at Calexico Port of Entry
CALEXICO, Calif. - Federal authorities seized more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $20 million from a commercial truck at the Calexico Port of Entry, marking the second-largest cocaine seizure in the Southern District of California this year.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the cocaine was concealed beneath the wooden floorboards of a flatbed trailer transporting 269 bundles of rebar. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, working alongside Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, discovered the hidden compartment after an X-ray scan revealed irregularities and a narcotics detection dog alerted to the trailer.
After unloading the rebar, officers removed the trailer’s wooden planks and located 366 packages of cocaine weighing approximately 1,002 pounds (454.56 kilograms).
The driver and sole occupant of the truck, 44-year-old Jose Manuel Lopez Lopez of Mexicali, Mexico, was arrested and charged with importation of cocaine.
Federal prosecutors described the seizure as “a tremendous amount of drugs, even by the standards of this district.”
Lopez pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in federal court. A detention hearing is scheduled for Aug. 3 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lupe Rodriguez Jr.
If convicted, Lopez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
According to federal officials, the seizure is the second-largest cocaine bust in the Southern District of California in 2026. The largest occurred in May, when authorities seized more than a ton of cocaine allegedly linked to a cross-border tunnel.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Benjamin and Lawrence Casper.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Criminal charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.