U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Philadelphia intercepted a shipment containing nearly 500 pounds of marijuana that was being sent from Georgia to the United Kingdom earlier this month.
According to CBP, officers were conducting routine export inspections on January 6 when they examined a shipping container with 80 boxes listed as clothing. The shipment originated in Decatur, Georgia, and was addressed to Oxford, England.
Upon opening one of the boxes, officers found marijuana packed in a vacuum-sealed bag. Further inspection revealed that seven out of the 80 boxes contained similar packages. In total, officers counted 405 vacuum-sealed packages labeled with names such as Runtzberry, Joker Candy, Galactic Gas, Mega Cherries, and Blue Zooties.
The combined weight of the seized marijuana was about 218 kilograms (approximately 481 pounds). CBP estimated its street value at $2.4 million in the United States and noted that high potency marijuana could be worth two to three times more in Europe.
All of the marijuana was seized by CBP officers.
“Customs and Border Protection officers routinely conduct export inspections, but rarely do we encounter marijuana loads of this magnitude in containerized cargo anymore, so this was a bit of an eye-opener that drug trafficking organizations may be shifting their bulk-smuggling tactics,” said Cleatus P. Hunt, Jr., CBP’s area port director for the area port of Philadelphia. “One way to combat transnational criminal organizations is to hit them hard in the wallet by seizing these bulk marijuana loads and depriving them of any ill-gotten gains.”
CBP reports that its officers and agents seize an average of 1,571 pounds of drugs daily at U.S. ports of entry across air, sea, and land locations. This includes about 78 pounds of fentanyl each day.
CBP’s mission at ports of entry involves screening international travelers and cargo for illegal narcotics as well as other prohibited items that could threaten public safety or economic security. More information can be found at www.CBP.gov.
