A second significant seizure in recent weeks at the Minnesota-Canada border has this time snared drug pipes by the tens of thousands, federal authorities announced Thursday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercepted more than 42,000 pieces of the drug paraphernalia, valued at $467,000, on Jan. 10 in a rail container as it was about to arrive at the International Falls port of entry, according to the agency.
"While CBP's number one mission is to prevent terrorism in our homeland, CBP officers also work to keep narcotics and drug paraphernalia out of our communities," Pembina Area Port Director Jason Schmelz said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "Our officers work tirelessly to secure our border ensuring that illicit items are not entering the country."
Schmelz's assistant, Chris Misson, said Thursday that the items were rubber pipes and other similar delivery devices used for ingesting illicit drugs.
Misson declined to reveal the pipes' origin other than to say they came from overseas beyond Canada.
Destruction is the fate of the pipes, and there's no chance anyone will be caught and punished for the illegal shipment, he added.
Last week, the agency announced it had seized a rail shipment $900,000 in fake currency, all in $1 denominations, at the same port.
The phony dough was stashed in 45 cartons, the CBP said. The U.S. Secret Service was contacted and confirmed that the bucks were bogus.
