Mexico drug smuggler is caught trying to sneak 400 pounds of cocaine across border concealed in boxes of CUCUMBERS

A Mexican man was busted trying to smuggle 400 pounds of cocaine into the US by concealing packages of the powdered drug among a shipment of cucumbers. 

The unidentified 33-year-old was caught with 401.68 pounds of cocaine when he tried to cross the Otay Mesa entry point in San Diego on September 15.

The US Customs and Border Protection were suspicious of the tractor-trailer delivering the cucumbers because of a similar incident involving a meth smuggler in August. 

In last month's drug-bust the tractor-trailer - a large truck with a long trailer attached to the back of it - hid 200 pounds of liquid methamphetamine in the vehicle's fuel tanks.

An unidentified 33-year-old from Mexico attempted to smuggle over 400 pounds of powder cocaine into the US by hiding it amongst cucumbers 

The Mexican man's truck was inspected at the border by CBP officers who found 146 packages of the illegal substance tucked away amongst boxes of cucumbers 

The most recent statistics from the UNODC say that a single gram of cocaine costs $169 on average and there was over 181,437 grams of cocaine hidden in the cucumbers

The cucumber-smuggling attempt was botched when CBP officers carried out an inspection on the suspicious truck and discovered 146 packages of cocaine hidden amongst the healthy food, which is technically a fruit. 

Mexico is the fifth largest producer of cucumbers in the world and grows 400,000 more each year than the US - meaning that the food is regularly transported over the border. 

The most recent statistics from the UNODC say that a single gram of cocaine costs $169 on average. There was over 181,437 grams of cocaine hidden in the cucumbers making the drug-smuggle a $30 million job.

US Customs and Border Protection officers are currently overwhelmed by the migrant crisis as their facilities are drastically over-capacity.

Southwest states have seen as many as 7000 migrants illegally cross the border each day in recent weeks. 

Border Patrol in San Diego has reportedly been dealing with 20,000 migrants in custody over the last week - 5,000 more than facilities can manage.

The El Paso port was closed 'temporarily' as border control personnel are being diverted to help process migrants that entered illegally in other parts of Texas.

A surge of El Paso's influx of migrants saw 1,700 people cross the border in 24 hours. 

The tractor-trailer used to smuggle the cucumber-hidden drugs was flagged because of a recent meth-smuggling mission using the same vehicle which hid 200 pounds of liquid meth (pictured)

Ovidio Guzman Lopez - son of drug lord El Chapo - was recently extradited from Mexico to the US to face drug charges for smuggling huge quantities of meth and fentanyl into the US

Hundreds of migrants were let go from buses and set free to roam San Diego, California after facilities couldn't handle the shocking numbers at the border in their facilities 

The chaos caused by the overwhelming migrant influxes appeared to be orchestrated by drug cartels who used the surges of desperate people as a cover.

By tying up crucial resources, it leaves Mexico's cartels free to carry out human trafficking and smuggling operations uninterrupted 

The cucumber cocaine smuggle is one of many drug-related incidents that are happening alongside the migrant crisis.

The Biden Administration has come under increasing pressure to tackle the burgeoning crisis - and it will likely form a key plank of Republican rivals' 2024 election campaigns.