More than $10 million worth of cocaine, meth found hidden in jalapeño paste in SoCal

OTAY MESA, Calif. (KABC) -- More than $10 million worth of cocaine and meth were found hidden in a shipment of jalapeño paste in the San Diego area, authorities announced.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility came across a 28-year-old man driving a commercial tractor-trailer with a shipment of what was believed to be jalapeño paste.

CBP officers ultimately found a total of 349 suspicious packages in the paste.

More than 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine and over 500 pounds of cocaine were found, which has a street value of $10,430,000, according to CBP.

"Our K-9 teams are an invaluable component of our counter-narcotics operations, providing a reliable and unequalled mobile detection capability," said Rosa Hernandez, the Otay Mesa Port Director. "By implementing local operations under Operation Apollo and CBP's Strategy to Combat Fentanyl and other Synthetic Drugs, we will continue to secure communities and stifle the growth of transnational criminal organizations, one seizure after another."

The driver was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for further processing.

Last month, the San Diego Field Office seized a total of more than 14,000 pounds of narcotics.