Largest Ever Cocaine Haul Seized by Authorities at Baltimore Port, 333 Pounds Hidden in Beach Chair Shipping Container
Authorities have seized more than 300 lb of cocaine hidden inside a shipping container at the Port of Baltimore.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents and other state and local partners seized the drugs following a multi-agency examination of a ship transporting beach chairs on June 18.
The shipping container had arrived from China through Panama when it was searched by authorities. As well as the chairs, there were also four black bags filled with 125 bricks of cocaine inside the vessel.
According to the CBP, the 333 lb of drugs, with an estimated street value of $10 million, is the largest ever cocaine seizure at the Port of Baltimore.
"This seizure illustrates the complexities of Customs and Border Protection's multi-faceted missions, from ensuring that imported goods comply with U.S. trade regulations to interdicting dangerous drugs that harm our communities," Casey Durst, CBP's Director of Field Operations in Baltimore, said in a statement.
"CBP officers remain vigilant at our nation's ports of entry to significantly impact transnational criminal organizations that push dangerously unsafe consumer goods or dangerous drugs."
The beach chairs inside the container were being sent to an address in Maryland. No arrests have been made in connection to the discovery of the cocaine.
"Because of the unique authorities and interagency expertise unified through Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), HSI agents and CBP officers were able to quickly identify and interdict this significant amount of illicit narcotics," said Cardell T. Morant, HSI Baltimore acting special agent in charge.
"We will continue to disrupt any attempt to traffic illicit narcotics that pose a threat to our communities' physical and economic health."
The previous largest cocaine seizure at the port in Baltimore was around 311 pounds on April 16, 2007.
The CBP says it seizes more than 4,650 pounds of narcotics on average every day.
Earlier this month, Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican man after sniffer dogs were able to find nearly 10 pounds of cocaine hidden inside his car.
The suspect was stopped in his silver 2007 Volkswagen Jetta at 1: 30 p.m. on June 19 at a checkpoint on westbound Interstate 8. During a search, a Border Patrol K-9 team performed an inspection of the vehicle and discovered four bundles of cocaine stuffed inside a modified compartment inside the dashboard.
The seized drugs were estimated to have a street value of nearly $100,000.
