770-Pound Cocaine Seizure Near Yuma
A routine arrest for drunk driving turned into one of the biggest drug busts in Imperial County history early Monday morning when a California Highway Patrol officer discovered 770 pounds of cocaine--worth an estimated $30 million on the street--concealed inside a pickup truck, CHP Lt. Doug McMurray said.
CHP Officer Steve Roberson stopped Jose Vargas Perez, 26, about 7:40 a.m. for weaving in and out of lanes on westbound Interstate 8 near Brock Research Center Road, 20 miles west of Yuma.
An open beer bottle was found in the cab of the truck and Perez was arrested, McMurray said.
A closer examination of the pickup revealed “yellow plastic protruding from underneath the bed of the truck, and there was a large piece of sheet metal down the center” of the bed, he said. The CHP found hidden compartments, which contained 320 bundles of cocaine weighing a kilogram each. Additionally, a duffel bag on the front floorboard was found to contain 30 kilos of cocaine.
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