Brazil's Federal Police seized on late Wednesday a shipment of 645 kilograms of cocaine in Mato Grosso state, in the country's mid-western region, local police said.

The police said the shipment's value is estimated at 5.8 million reais (2.44 million U.S. dollars).

The seizure, which was the largest of the region in the last eight years, took place on the BR-364 federal road, in the outskirts of Rondonopolis, during a routine traffic stop.

Police said the cocaine was found in tablets, hidden in a fake bottom of a truck which carried a large rice shipment. The truck belonged to the National Supply Company (Conab), a state-owned organization linked to the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply.

The policemen decided to inspect the truck thoroughly after the driver, a 24-year-old man, got very nervous with the officers' approach. According to the driver, whose name was not disclosed, the drug shipment was coming from the nearby town of Varzea Grande and was heading to Santa Maria da Serra, in the neighboring state of Sao Paulo.

The man said that it was the second time he was hired to transport a drug shipment and that he received 50,000 reais (21,000 U.S. dollars) for the job.

The driver was arrested in flagrant and will be charged with drug trafficking. If convicted, he will be jailed for up to 15 years.

Source:Xinhua