Border Patrol finds $1.2M worth of cocaine hidden inside ice cream machine

Border Patrol agents in Texas found $1.2 million worth of cocaine hidden inside a commercial ice cream maker this week in El Paso, Texas, authorities announced on Thursday. 

On June 19, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Bridge of the Americas stopped a 1995 Ford F-150 pickup truck pulling an ice cream machine as it was attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The CBP officers flagged the car for further inspection, according to a statement by the CBP. 

During a secondary inspection of the vehicle, an X-ray scan revealed “anomalies” in the car and its cargo. CBP officers then used a canine to search the vehicle, which alerted authorities about substances in the bed of the pick-up truck. 

CBP officers found 56 tightly packed bundles of cocaine hidden within the walls of the ice cream maker. The narcotics, which totaled 146 pounds, and the vehicle were seized by the CBP. The narcotics had an estimated street value of $1.2 million. 

The driver, identified as a 43-year-old Mexican national, was detained and turned over to the Texas Department of Public Safety officers to face state charges connected to the attempted drug smuggling, the statement continued.

“The vast majority of commercial shipments CBP officers process pose little risk however seizures like this remind us all that drugs can be concealed almost anywhere and that we must remain constantly vigilant,” said acting CBP El Paso Port Director Luis Mejia. 

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. 

Last month, 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.