Customs and Border Protection has released its top ten fascinating/interesting/bizarre finds for 2015. Most of the seizures involve drugs, but there were also bugs, meat and hoverboards. Smugglers got creative this year, stuffing meth into sneakers and making marijuana appear as watermelon.
“The men and women of CBP serve tirelessly on the frontlines 24/7 to protect our nation’s security and economic prosperity,” said Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “CBP officers, agents, and agriculture specialists remain vigilant while patrolling the borders and processing legitimate travelers and cargo for entry into the U.S. every day.”
CBP chose these seizures to demonstrate the various ways that criminal organizations attempt to smuggle narcotics and people into the U.S.
The list is in no particular order, according to the agency.
1. Illegal Pork Meat Tamales
“Although tamales are a popular holiday tradition, foreign meat products can carry serious animal diseases from countries affected by outbreaks of Avian Influenza, Mad Cow and Swine Fever," said Anne Maricich, CBP Acting Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles at the time.
2. Semi-Submersible Vessel With 8 Tons of Cocaine
Drug traffickers use these custom-built crafts to move large amounts of drugs and illicit contraband because the vessel's low profile can make detection difficult, according to CBP. They are similar to a submarine, with a significant portion of the hull below the waterline.
3. Drugs Shaped Like Watermelons
Hours later, agents stopped another car, with 69 packages of methamphetamine hidden in the rear quarter panels of the vehicle. The methamphetamine weighed a total of 82.36 pounds and has an estimated street value of $823,600.
5. Hitchhiking bugs
These creepy crawlies were identified as Derobrachus inaequalis (Cerambycidae) and Eusattus venosus Champion (Tenebrionidae).
6. Hoverboards -- Not From the Future
The seized hoverboard shipment had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $171,000.
7. Spools of Cable Filled With Drugs
“Because of the complexity of the drug concealment, it took CBP more than 12 hours to open and remove the drugs from specially built compartments,” said CBP El Paso Port Director Beverly Good.
8. Meth in Shoes
“Drug smugglers are using increasingly innovative methods," said Miami International Airport Port Director Christopher Maston.
10. Cloned Border Patrol Vehicle With Undocumented Immigrants
"Smugglers have resorted to desperate measures to conduct their illicit business," said Mario Martinez, Chief of the Laredo Sector Border Patrol. Martinez cited the "training, attention to detail and vigilance of our Border Patrol agents" for stopping the human smuggling attempt.
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