U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized $8 million of marijuana after inspecting a shipment at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo in the latest in a string of large drug busts at the Canadian border crossing.
CBP officers discovered the 3,836 pounds of marijuana – almost two tons – after inspecting seven skids manifested as a shipment of lighting, the agency said on Thursday.
The officers found 14 pallets inside the skids, which contained “numerous” cardboard boxes filled with sealed bags of marijuana, CBP said in a statement. The agency estimated the drugs had a street value of more than $8 million.
CBP did not reveal what kind of vehicle transported the marijuana or its origin. However, the location of the seizure at the Peace Bridge US-Canada border crossing and the size of the shipment suggest it likely came on a truck from Canada.
The bust marks the latest large marijuana seizure by CBP officers at the Peace Bridge this summer.
The largest seizure happened in June when border officers found $20 million of marijuana, which was hauled in by a truck from Canada. U.S. federal prosecutors dropped the charges against the driver in that case, who had insisted that he was unaware of the contents of his sealed trailer.
CBP officers working in the Buffalo and Detroit areas have reported a jump in drug seizures since the U.S.-Canada border closed for non-essential travel in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the seizures have come from commercial trucks.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Nate Tabak.
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