CBP Finds More Than a Ton of Marijuana in Shipment of Hot Sauce Valued at $1.4 Million

San Diego — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa cargo facility Friday afternoon, discovered about 2,330 pounds of marijuana in boxes of hot sauce.

On Sept. 1 at about 4 p.m., a 39-year-old male Mexican citizen and resident of Tijuana, entered the cargo port driving a 1991 Freightliner tractor, pulling a trailer with cargo manifested as hot sauce. A CBP officer referred the driver and conveyance for a more intensive examination.

Officers ran the tractor trailer through the port’s x-ray imaging system that showed anomalies with the cargo. Officers then unloaded the shipment; they opened the boxes and discovered 123 wrapped packages of marijuana, comingled with bottles of hot sauce.

The marijuana has a street value of $1.4 million.

The driver was arrested and transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center. CBP seized the marijuana, tractor, and trailer.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.