CBP thwarts two smuggling attempts
From goods smuggling to concealed methamphetamine, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been busy monitoring various illegal activities at the country’s Southern borders.
The CBP officers recently intercepted 574 packages of methamphetamine concealed within a shipment of carrots. Weighing in at 1,315 kg, the estimated street value of the drugs is in the millions of dollars. The driver had attempted to cross the border at Otay Mesa, California.
In Puerto Rico, Akua Mosaics, a local business, and its president, Kenneth Fleming, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to smuggle goods to avoid antidumping and countervailing duties. It had imported porcelain mosaic tiles from China but falsely represented their origin to be Malaysian. The total amount of unpaid duties and tariffs on this shipment was around USD 1,090,000. (mk)