U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Presidio Port of Entry in Texas on Thursday discovered four wheels of cheddar cheese filled with nearly 18 pounds of cocaine.
Authorities pulled over a pick-up truck that was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border carrying cheese wheels and referred it for a secondary inspection, CBP said in a statement.
During the inspection, CBP officers found the four wheels of cheese within the truck. Despite having been declared by the driver, the agents conducted an x-ray scan of the product, which revealed “anomalies within.”
The agents cut open the cheese and found several bundles filled with cocaine within. A total of 17.8 pounds of cheese were removed from the cheese wheels.
“Smugglers will sometimes try to conceal contraband in items that appear innocent to deflect suspicion,” said CBP Presidio Port Director Daniel Mercado.
“The thorough and extensive inspections performed by CBP officers stopped this unusual drug load from reaching its intended destination,” he added.
The cocaine and the vehicle were seized by the CBP. The driver, identified as a 22-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained and handed over to Homeland Security Investigations to face charges connected to the attempt.
In recent months, CBP officers have stopped several attempted drug smuggling schemes that have tried to bring narcotics into the country through unconventional means, hoping to evade detection.
In late June, CBP agents in El Paso, Texas found 146 pounds of cocaine worth $1.2 million hidden inside a commercial ice cream maker. In May, two individuals were arrested in South Carolina after police made an unusual discovery during a traffic stop: 1,500 grams of cocaine hidden underneath what appeared to be a pregnant woman’s bell.
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