Everything was going smoothly on Interstate 80 last Friday until police officers found over 1,100 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck. The truckers are currently behind bars as the investigation continues. 

Trucker caught with $40 million worth of cocaine 

The Illinois State Police stopped a Volvo semi-truck on Interstate 80 in Henry County around 2:10 PM on Friday. The stop took place in Geneseo, about 150 miles west of Chicago. They pulled the truck over because they noticed a few different indicators of criminal activity. 

Then the motor vehicle inspection led to a subsequent inspection. Troopers quickly found 1,100 lbs of cocaine hidden in the semi-truck. The street value is estimated to be around $40 million in street value. 

According to Fox 32 Chicago, two men in the truck were arrested for possession of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver, and cocaine trafficking. These are Class X felony counts. 

The men are 27-year-old Vanshpreet Singh and 36-year-old Manpreet Singh. They are both from Ontario Canada and are being held at the Henry County Jail pending a pre-trial release hearing. 

ISP Director, Brandon F. Kelly, shared that the ISP’s coordinated focus on trafficking is helping keep dangerous drugs out of Illinois communities. 

From commercial motor vehicle inspections to daily patrol to targeted anti-violence and trafficking details, ISP is making communities safer. The Drug Enforcement Administration of Chicago Field Division also assisted in this investigation. 

Also, the arrests happened days after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a new 25% traffic on Canada unless it cracks down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling. 

Donald Trump noted that the tariff on January 20th will remain in effect until drugs, in particular, Fentanyl and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country. 

It’s worth noting that during the last fiscal year about 43 lbs of fentanyl was seized at the Canadian border compared to 21,100 lbs at the Mexican border.