Customs officers seize cocaine-filled cheese wheels at Texas border

PRESIDIO, Texas — Customs officials seized more than 17 pounds of cocaine hidden inside several wheels of cheese at the Texas-Mexico border, authorities said.

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According to a news release on Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, officers working at the Presidio Port of Entry on Thursday intercepted 17.8 pounds of the drug, which was hidden inside four wheels of cheese.

Officials said a pickup truck arrived from Mexico and was referred for a secondary inspection, the news release stated. During their inspection, agents located the four wheels of cheese, which had been declared by the driver.

The dairy products were examined and scanned by an X-ray system and revealed “anomalies,” officials said.

Customs agents cut open the cheese wheels and discovered seven bundles filled with cocaine.

The driver of the pickup, identified as a 22-year-old U.S. citizen was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and faces charges connected to the failed smuggling attempt, officials said.

“Smugglers will sometimes try to conceal contraband in items that appear innocent to deflect suspicion,” Daniel Mercado, the port director at Presidio, said in a statement. “The thorough and extensive inspections performed by CBP officers stopped this unusual drug load from reaching its intended destination.”

Presidio is located approximately 250 miles southeast of El Paso, Texas.