Narcotrafficking for dummies: check out these pics of bizarre drug-smuggling fails
LatestThe U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has started publishing a Twitter list of clever —but ultimately failed —attempts to smuggle narcotics into the United States over the past year.
Using the hashtag #CBPTop10, the agency is highlighting some of its “strangest” seizures of 2014, as well as some bizarre drug-smuggling fails from the first few weeks of 2015. Here are some of the highlights from recent months:
A fire extinguisher filled with meth
$5,700 worth of methamphetamine was seized at the Tijuana-San Diego border on Jan. 7 when a K-9 unit sniffed an SUV and “the detector dog alerted to a fire extinguisher that was located behind the seat vehicle.”
When agents opened the extinguisher they found 1.44 pounds of meth packed inside. It’s considered the perfect tool to extinguish a burning craving for meth.
A car built for the ‘high-way’
Border agents inspecting a vehicle trying to cross the border at Yuma, Arizona last Jan. 7 “found 18 packages filled with liquid meth hidden in the gas tank.”
When authorities emptied the tank, they had a total of 55 pounds of liquid meth worth an estimated $510,000. No word on how many miles-per-gallon the meth vehicle got, but with pump prices falling, spending $78,000 per gallon is pretty expensive way to fill the tank.
A heroin heroine Barbie doll
Agents found $52,000 worth of heroin packaged in tiny plastic capsules stuffed inside a Barbie doll knockoff last September.
What’s next? Narco Ken with a Glock under the seat and body stuffed the trunk of his Corvette dream car?
Cocaine Tamales
Officials at the George Bush International Airport in Houston confiscated nearly 7 ounces of cocaine packed inside tamales from a Salvadoran man attempting to smuggle the traditional masa-based, leaf-wrapped food to New York.
According to the CBP, “officers discovered a box containing 200 tamales, which were not disclosed on the traveler’s declaration.”
In other words, they were “hot tamales.”
Soapy Opium: the way junkies ‘get clean’
A package from Thailand confiscated in San Francisco was found to contain 8.9 pounds of opium hidden inside several bars of soap.
“Each of the 66 bars contained a ball of opium, with a total weight of 8.9 pounds,” authorities said after inspecting the package.
Marijuana Jesus
Last August, $20,000 worth of marijuana was found hidden inside a religious figurine that was transported via DHL. A dog alerted agents to the package, then x-ray scanning revealed 26 pounds of marijuana hidden inside the Jesus statuette.
According to border patrol officials, “the package originated from Mexico and was destined for delivery to San Juan, Puerto Rico.”
Mexican ‘Trojan Horse’ filled with cocaine
Two wooden horses were seized by authorities in Calexico, California last August with 29 pounds of cocaine hidden inside. The narco-Trojan horses contained a total of $377,000 worth of cocaine.
Grandma’s secret cookie dough ingredient (hint: it’s not raisins)
“While cookies and milk make for a great snack, U. S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Newark Liberty International Airport seized a very dangerous combination of cookies,” reads a rather playful CBP press release from last June.
Officials said they inspected the luggage of a Guatemalan national and “discovered small oval-shaped pellets containing a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine. In total, 118 pellets of cocaine were seized, with an estimated weight of 3.08 lbs. and an approximate street value of $52,000.”
Geppetto the narco
CBP officers at a border crossing in Arizona busted a man carrying an accordion filled with 4.5 pounds of meth back in June.
Authorities seized “almost $13,600 worth of meth wrapped in black tape and stashed in the center of the musical instrument.”
Authorities first clue might have been an 18-year-old carrying an accordion.
A meth cheese wheel
Back in April customs officials in California arrested a man who was attempting to enter the Calexico, California while carrying what appeared to be multiple “Gouda” cheese wheels.
“CBP officers searched the cheese and discovered four wrapped packages of methamphetamine concealed inside the cheese wheels. The weight of the narcotic was two pounds with a street value of approximately $13,000,” authorities said.
Meth-cheese goes great on crack crackers.