Decorative tombstone hid a secret compartment — and a trove of drugs, agents say
Customs officers in Ohio discovered illegal surprises last month in three packages — one holding a decorative tombstone, and two others filled with wrapped candy, authorities said.
The two packages of tinfoil-wrapped candy from Mexico raised red flags when they went through an x-ray machine on Jan. 4 in Cincinnati, so inspectors unwrapped the sweets, only to find that plastic capsules were hidden in some of the candies, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release.
Those plastic capsules held baggies full of white powder, which testing revealed was methamphetamine. The two shipments of candy held about nine pounds of the illegal drugs, which were bound for Gridley, California, customs officers said.
A drug-sniffing dog named Freddy helped Cincinnati officers uncover the other surprise on Jan 24. The dog pointed out a shipment from Canada that included a decorative tombstone, according to customs officers. An x-ray also showed there were problems with the package, so officers opened it up and found a tombstone made of resin. It had an easily removable back, which hid a “hollow interior packed with a white powder,” customs officials said.
That powder turned out to be cocaine, according to customs.
“Our officers are committed to keep our country and communities safe from illegal and dangerous drugs,” CBP Cincinnati Port Director Joshua Shorr said in a statement. “This seizure is one example of the quality enforcement work they do on a daily basis.”
The agency described the drugs as “dangerous and highly addictive,” capable of causing “paranoia, exhaustion, heart conditions, convulsions, stroke, and death” in users. And while all three packages represented especially creative ways to hide the drugs, they are far from the only method in use: Lately, inspectors have also discovered cocaine shipments hidden in piston heads, documents and wheels, according to the agency.
Customs agents said they routinely screen people and cargo that come into the U.S. to check for drugs, including at the international DHL mail facility in Cincinnati where the tombstone and candy were discovered, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
