Drug-sniffing dog helps intercept nearly 400-pound cocaine haul at Blue Water Bridge checkpoint
A nearly 400-pound haul of cocaine was seized as U.S. and Canadian authorities followed up on suspicious activity in St. Clair County, Michigan.
The investigation began about 6:30 p.m. Nov. 25, the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office said. That's when members of the U.S. Homeland Security Task Force North noticed two commercial vehicles with Ontario plates parked at a Michigan truck stop. The two trucks left the area in opposite directions.
One of the trucks traveled to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, where authorities did a vehicle inspection with the assistance of Warren Police Department K-9 Argo.
Officers found the nearly 400 pounds of cocaine in that vehicle, deputies said.
Officers saw the second vehicle swerving while driving and made a traffic stop. St. Clair County Sheriff's K-9 Brock picked up on a suspicious odor, which led officers to search that vehicle, deputies said.
The Homeland Security Task Force members working on this investigation included officers from the Port Huron Police Department, Warren Police Department, St. Clair County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Ontario Provincial Police and Canada Border Services Agency.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents also assisted in the arrest at the bridge.
"Thank you to the law enforcement officers involved in this case for their dedication to disrupting the dispersal of narcotics into the community," St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King said.