BALTIMORE – Sally surely wasn’t selling these seashells down by the seashore. Customs and Border Protection officers in Baltimore encountered a unique concealment method when they discovered hashish hidden inside seashells that arrived in air cargo from Nigeria on September 30.
inside these seashells.
CBP agriculture specialists initially inspected the parcel when they discovered little plastic baggies of a brown substance inside seashells that were taped closed. Agriculture specialists turned the parcel over to CBP officers at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Officers field-tested the brown substance and discovered it to be hashish. The total weight of the hashish was a little more than 38 grams.
The parcel was destined to an address in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Authorities have made no arrests. An investigation continues.
“This seizure proves once again that Customs and Border Protection is up to the task of intercepting dangerous drugs in even the most unusual of concealment methods to help keep our communities safe,” said Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office. “Narcotics interdiction remains a top priority enforcement mission for CBP and one that we take very serious.”
CBP seized an average of 3,707 pounds of dangerous drugs every day across the United States last year. Learn more about what CBP accomplished during “A Typical Day” in 2019.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.
Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.