HINSDALE, IL — A refrigerated truck was apparently being used for cocaine smuggling in an operation that was broken up by the Cook County (IL) Sheriff’s Department.

Police officials announced that they had made their largest drug bust ever in seizing $63 million worth of cocaine from the truck while it was parked at a freeway rest stop in Hinsdale, southwest of Chicago.

Officials said the truck was packed with cabbage, green peppers, and cilantro, plus 250 kg of cocaine that was stored in a false ceiling of the truck. The police had received information that the truck would be passing through the Chicago area from Texas, continuing on to the East Coast. Spotted at the rest stop, the truck was put under surveillance. After waiting several hours to see if it would move on, police searched the vehicle. The driver apparently had slipped away after going to the rest stop.

Publication date: 03/04/2002