| Photo: San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department |
| Deputies discovered numerous pallets of heat-sealed drugs on a big rig trailer. They claimed the marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine was worth $45 million |
Sheriff’s deputies discovered drugs worth an estimated $45 million after a tractor trailer was stopped in Rancho Cucamonga, California, on Wednesday.
The bust was described as “one of the largest ever made in San Bernardino County,” and included thousands of pounds of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s office, reports Melissa Pinion-Whitt of the San Bernardino Sun.
A big rig was stopped on the eastbound 10 Freeway for a traffic violation around 11 a.m.
The driver, Fernando Luevano, 32, of Los Angeles, did not have proper paperwork, and foolishly gave deputies permission to search the trailer. (Lesson #1: Never consent to a search, No, it won’t make things “go easier” for you.)
When deputies opened the trailer, they smelled what they called an “overwhelming odor of marijuana.”
The trailer was “filled to capacity” with large cardboard containers on pallets, holding thousands of heat-sealed packages of various drugs.
Deputies claimed they confiscated about 38,000 pounds of marijuana, 2,700 pounds of cocaine, and 67 pounds of methamphetamine.
“This is one of the largest seizures in the county and I will make every effort to continue this aggressive fight against drug traffickers entering San Bernardino County,” said Sheriff-Coroner Rod Hoops, reports KTLA News.
Luevano was arrested on suspicion of possession, transportation and sale of narcotics. He was thrown into Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and is being held on $5 million bail.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court, according to sherirff’s department officials.
The sheriff’s narcotics division said it is working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on the case.
