Why landmark cocaine bust at Port of Hueneme was 'a big shock'

Federal authorities say they’re still working to “connect the dots” in the Port of Hueneme’s biggest drug bust in a quarter century — one that revealed more than 221 pounds of cocaine hidden in the floorboards of two produce ships. 

“This normally doesn’t happen in Port Hueneme,” said Jaime Ruiz, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, one of the Department of Homeland Security agencies that were involved in the recent bust.

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Ruiz said he could not disclose how authorities knew to check the ships that carried produce from Central and South America, but it was likely due to information received by investigators.

“Everything was the result of intelligence information,” Ruiz said in an interview.

The first drug interception took place Jan. 22 when authorities boarded a refrigerated cargo vessel that arrived from Ecuador. Concealed in the floorboards, officers found 80 parcels containing a total of 204.2 pounds of cocaine.

Then on Jan. 28, another produce vessel, this one arriving from Guatemala, was found to be carrying packets on the floorboards hiding 17.5 pounds of cocaine.

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The investigation was conducted by officers from Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations.

Ruiz confirmed no arrests have been made in the case yet, but said the investigation is ongoing. 

“We’re trying to connect the dots in who’s involved with this operation,” Ruiz said.

The port — the largest deepwater port between San Francisco and Los Angeles — is known for imports of bananas from Latin America, as well as cars and bulk liquids. Authorities didn’t specify what kind of produce was on the vessels that contained the cocaine. 

“This normally doesn’t happen in Port Hueneme,” Ruiz said. “These are big companies, so it’s a big shock for them. They’re probably going to review procedures and security measures because of this.”

The port’s website shows two ships were there on each of the days of the cocaine bust. It was not clear which ships the cocaine was found on.

LaFonda Sutton-Burke, the Customs and Border Protection port director for the Port of Hueneme, called it the largest drug seizure at Port Hueneme in the past 25 years. She added that she was proud of the joint effort between Homeland Security agencies, which demonstrated their focus on preventing dangerous drugs from reaching communities.

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