Over 1,500 pounds of cocaine was seized after a shipment of baby wipes wasn’t as clean as you would think. The seizure occurred on Friday, August 26, 2022, at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge separating Texas and New Mexico.  The cocaine was disguised as packages of baby wipes and was used to hide the cocaine but it proved to not work as hoped. Following the inspection, drug-sniffing dogs discovered what CBP described as 1,935 packages of cocaine totaling 1,532 pounds! This seizure has been the largest in over 20 years.

The seizure occurred on Friday, August 26, 2022, at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge when a CBP officer referred a 2016 Stoughton trailer manifesting a shipment of baby wipes for a secondary inspection. The truck was referred for a canine and non-intrusive inspection system examination, resulting in the discovery of 1,935 packages containing 1,532.65 pounds of alleged cocaine within the shipment.“Officers assigned to CBP cargo facilities ensure effective border security by preventing and countering the flow of suspected narcotics entering the country,” said Port Director Alberto Flores, Laredo Port of Entry. “This seizure is a prime example of border security management and how it helps prevent dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities.”

In 2020, £1 million worth of cocaine was found in a shipment of COVID protection face masks. Similarly, in May of 2022 – 500KG worth of cocaine (street worth US$53 million) was found in a Nespresso coffee factory in Switzerland. Border patrol officers in Laredo have reported smaller narcotics seizures throughout the summer. On Monday, the agency said it seized a shipment of fentanyl worth $390,000 from a car entering the U.S. from Mexico. In June and July, CBP said agents found a shipment of alleged cocaine worth more than $600,000 in the tires of a trailer said to be transporting juice, and more than $1 million worth of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine inside a shipment of statues at the Laredo-Columbia Solidarity International Bridge.

The number of drug seizures is increasing as in 2016 there were only 60,000 drug busts recorded but in recent years ¨the number of CBP drug seizures increased from about 65,000 in the fiscal year 2016 to 99,000 in the fiscal year 2021.¨ gao.gov This just proves how our borders are being protected  and we can live peacefully without having to worry if we are safe or if we should be worried that any illegal drugs will enter our homes or lives