October 27, 09

NEWS / Philadelphia CBP Checkmates Hashish in International Airmail

Philadelphia – The game of chess has long been used to describe the hunt by law enforcement to discover narcotics organizations’ many smuggling concealment methods. That analogy was never more evident than when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than two pounds of hashish and more than half an ounce of marijuana secreted inside a wooden chessboard in Philadelphia on Saturday.The street value of the narcotics is estimated to be about $30,000.

The wooden chessboard revealed an unusual density to CBP officers during a routine inspection of international air parcels. CBP officers removed the game board’s bottom and discovered a tape-wrapped brick that tested positive for hashish, and a small plastic bag containing marijuana. A CBP narcotics canine also alerted to the parcel.


“Combating narcotics smugglers is akin to a high-stakes chess match, and protecting our nation’s citizens is the prize,” said Allan Martocci, CBP port director for the Area Port of Philadelphia. “Narcotics organizations attempt creative concealment methods to smuggle their deadly poison into the United States, and CBP officers remain steadfast in exposing these methods and in protecting Americans.”


The parcel was originally shipped from Tanzania.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/10272009.xml