Agents Find 3 1/2 Tons of Cocaine in Gas Tanker Truck at Border

Federal agents Thursday seized more than 3 1/2 tons of cocaine stashed in a propane-filled tanker truck, the largest volume of cocaine ever confiscated at the California-Mexico border, officials said.

Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs agents discovered the cocaine at 2 p.m. Thursday after waiting more than a day to bleed the propane from the tanker.

Agents stopped the Hidro Gas Juarez truck at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Otay Mesa border cargo inspection station when they noticed the northbound truck was nearly 7,500 pounds heavier than it should have been.

The driver, a Mexican national whose name was withheld, was allowed to leave because, federal officials said, they could not readily determine Wednesday whether drugs were inside.

Tom Hardy, acting district director for the U.S. Customs office here, said his agency was seeking the driver, who could face life in prison and a $4-million fine if convicted of cocaine smuggling.

Agents estimated the seizure at more than 3 1/2 tons, though the exact amount of cocaine in the tanker was uncertain late Thursday because heavy fumes slowed the unloading of the drug.

The seizure--which federal officials estimated was worth $85 million wholesale and $425 million at street prices--was the second-largest ever in Southern California. A world-record 21 tons of cocaine was discovered at a San Fernando Valley warehouse a little more than a year ago.