Photo Courtesy of CBP Philadelphia
Philly, NY, and Cincinnati CBP officers in March intercepted several shipments of cocaine from Jamaica.
By Forum Staff
United States Customs and Border Protection officers last month interrupted a trend in cocaine concealment after stopping four shipments of the white powder secreted inside the insulated walls of thermos cups on flights that originated in Jamaica, CBP officials announced Tuesday.
Each shipment consisted of four souvenir insulated thermos cups that were packed with tea bags, bagged spices or vaporizing ointment. Each shipment contained approximately 250-260 grams of cocaine for a total weight of more than one kilogram, or more than 2.5 pounds. The cocaine had an approximate street value of about $70,000.
The investigation continues.
On March 10, Philadelphia CBP officers inspected the first shipment of four thermos insulated cups from Montego Bay. Officers found that each insulated cup was filled with tea bags or spice bags and were unusually heavy. Officers drilled into the side wall of each cup and discovered a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine. This shipment was destined to an address in Philadelphia.
Photo Courtesy of CBP Philadelphia
The combined seizures weighed more than 2.5 pounds and had a street value of about $70.000.
CBP officers then learned that three similar shipments from Jamaica were in transit through express consignment processing centers in Cincinnati, New York and again in Philadelphia, and flagged each shipment for officers in those locations:
On March 11, Cincinnati CBP officers intercepted the second shipment of cocaine similarly concealed inside the insulated walls of four thermos cups that were destined to a different address in Philadelphia.
On March 15, CBP officers and narcotics detector dog Kincsem intercepted the third cocaine shipment in the Bronx. That parcel was destined to an address in the Bronx.
On March 16, Philadelphia CBP officers seized the last shipment of cocaine destined to an address in Stamford, Conn.
Also on March 15, Philadelphia CBP officers discovered 18 pounds of cocaine inside the cargo hold of a passenger flight that also arrived from Montego Bay.
“These cocaine seizures perfectly illustrate how Customs and Border Protection officers across the country routinely collaborate to intercept shipments of dangerous drugs and force traffickers to work hard to change concealment tactics and supply routes,” said Joseph Martella, CBP’s area port director in Philadelphia. “Our communities expect us to stand a vigilant watch along our nation’s borders against the repeated smuggling attempts by drug trafficking organizations, and CBP vows to do just that.”
