U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized approximately 450 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of approximately $6 million during an inspection on the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge between Lewiston, N.Y. and Queenston, Ontario.
CBP officers working in the outbound lane on Sept. 22 stopped for inspection of a commercial truck and trailer that was headed to Canada. During the inspection, officers discovered modifications to the trailer’s floor, and a CBP canine alerted officers to the presence of narcotics.
The truck and trailer were escorted to a secondary inspection location where officers conducted a nonintrusive inspection that revealed anomalies in the trailer’s floor. A follow-up search found 174 vacuum-sealed packages in the floor that field-tested positive cocaine.
“This significant seizure highlights the exceptional vigilance, advanced training and relentless dedication of our CBP officers and canine teams at the Lewiston Bridge border crossing,” Sharon Swiatek, acting Area Port of Buffalo port director, said. “While a large focus of our border security mission is on inbound threats, our officers remain equally sharp during outbound operations to dismantle transborder criminal networks, disrupt the flow of dangerous narcotics and protect communities on both sides of the border.”
Homeland Security Investigations Buffalo will conduct an investigation.