In a particularly creative way of smuggling drugs, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents seized over a ton of marijuana in Pharr, Texas, that had been hidden in carrot-shaped and carrot-colored packages. The fake carrots were apparently mixed with real carrots in order to seem legitimate.
The port director was even impressed with this latest way to sneak drugs into the United States. According to CNN, he said in a statement, “Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border.”
CNN also reports that after the trucks containing the contraband-filled carrots crossed the Pharr-Reynosa Bridge connecting the U.S. and Mexico, CBP’s imaging inspection system flagged the vehicles for a second inspection. This is when officials found the fake carrots filled with weed. This is the second time, apparently, that drugs were hidden in a shipment of carrots. Last November, officials seized almost $2 million worth of weed and cocaine that were (rather uncreatively) stuffed inside a whole shipment, instead of hidden in meticulously camouflaged packages.
Here are some more fun numbers about this latest seizure: the amount of marijuana seized totals 2,493 pounds, with a street value of approximately $499,000. The marijuana was hidden in almost 3,000 packages. CBP officials filled up the beds of two pickup trucks with the contraband.
Sounds like a fun day at the office for those guys.
(via CNN)
